Not a Nobody, a Special
by AsterDragElf
Summary: Kai always felt that he wasn't special. Just someone who was told that his family hates him. To sum it up: a nobody. But after harsh words were spoken and the appearance of new people in a dire situation for our favorite brunet, that belief may just change.
1. From hilarious to heart-shocking

**Just want to tell you that I had to fix "A Happy Birthday" AGAIN because some things were cut off. Sorry about that. And no, I didn't mess up on the title. You'll find out later on. Anyway, here is my next story!**

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Chapter 1: From hilarious to heart-shocking.**

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"I completely forgot!"

Kai shook his head. Miwa and he were going to their next class. When Kai asked Miwa if he was ready for the test, he freaked. Miwa was usually one to forget this kind of stuff. Unlike Kai, who was always ready for a test. He was the best student in the school, after all. Kai was modest, so he tried not to show it. But the teachers never failed to mention it as an example for the students. Like Miwa.

"If I fail this test, my mom will ground me for life!" Miwa exaggerated. Kai had to bite the side of his mouth so he wouldn't laugh. He suddenly got an idea. _This is going to be fun! _

"Would she really do that?" Kai asked, making himself sound like he was curious. He was really smirking on the inside.

"No! She'd probably do something worse!" Miwa ruffled his hair in despair. He didn't see Kai cover his mouth, his body shaking in laughter. This was just too funny! Kai needed a moment to regain his composure before speaking.

"She can't be that bad," Kai said, unable to hold back a small smile. They arrived at their classroom before anyone and took a seat.

"You should've seen her when I made that cake explode!" Miwa looked horror-striken. Kai couldn't hold it anymore. He nearly fell off his chair laughing. Miwa looked shocked.

"Y-you... made a... cake... explode?!" Kai could barely ask through his laughing fit.

"All I did was put some extra baking soda!" Miwa said defensively, which made Kai laugh even more. Miwa turned serious. "Kai, I mean it. I can't fail this test." Kai started to calm down.

"Sorry, but... I couldn't... resist," Kai spoke, out of breath. He reached into his bag and pulled something out. "Here, you can use my notes."

Miwa snatched them from him and looked them over. "Really? Thanks, Kai... " Miwa stopped speaking as the realization hit him. He turned to Kai whose innocent look changed into a sheepish grin. "You had these all along?!" Kai started to laugh again.

"Kai!"

Kai wanted to apologize to Miwa, but he was too busy trying to stop himself from laughing. He was out of breath. Kai had to breathe in and out to calm his racing heart. Miwa looked at him, worried.

"Are you okay?" Miwa asked, concerned. Kai seemed to have trouble breathing. Finally, he caught his breath and managed to speak.

"I'm... alright," Kai panted, his hand unconsciously clutching his chest. He had to change the subject, quick. "Miwa, class is about to start."

Miwa immediately forgot about Kai and began to study the notes. Kai inwardly sighed with relief. _That was too close. I'll have to be more careful, _he told himself. Then, students began to pile into the classroom and soon, class started. Kai worked on his test paper and tried to ignore the pain in his chest. It burned. Kai started to feel queasy. _Why now?_ Kai groaned.

"Kai-kun?" Kai practically jumped when the teacher called him. He looked up from his test paper. Only to find that the entire class was staring at him with concerned looks plastered on their faces. Even Miwa. Kai felt his heart start to speed up. He hated attention. It would always make him nervous. Kai turned to his teacher, who had a worried look on his face as well.

"Yes?"

"...I asked if you were done with your test," his teacher said after a moment. Kai blinked. Class was over. Kai was almost always the first one to finish his work. That's probably why everyone was staring. _But then, why do they look worried? _Kai pondered. He decided to come back to the present and answer his teacher.

"Yes, I'm done," Kai replied. However, his teacher didn't leave the classroom, he just stared at Kai.

"Is everything alright?" his teacher asked slowly. Kai was confused. His teacher must have noticed this. "You seemed to have been in pain earlier."

Kai wasn't able to hide his surprise. _I groaned out loud! _he realized. Everyone was staring. Kai's chest began to hurt. His heart was beating too fast.

"It-it's nothing really," Kai, panicking, stammered on his words. The teacher didn't look convinced, but he let it go. As Kai stood up from his chair the teacher spoke, "Remember to study on that last chapter because after your holidays there will be a test."

"Oh, c'mon!" Kai heard Miwa exclaim. Kai let a weary smile grace his face. He already knew the whole chapter by heart, but Miwa probably doesn't even remember a single sentence.

As Kai was leaving the classroom, Miwa came up beside him. "Hey, Kai, what happened back there?" Miwa asked, looking worried.

Kai contemplated on what he should tell him. "I'm just not feeling that well," he said. It wasn't a lie. Far from it. Kai _was_ feeling sick, he just didn't tell Miwa _why_.

Miwa looked skeptical, but then he noticed something. Kai looked pale and his breathing was heavier. "Okay. Just take it easy then," Miwa said, believing him.

Kai gave him a look. "I know how to take care of myself."

Miwa laughed at that. "Could I borrow your notes again?'' he asked with hopeful smile.

"Didn't you take notes?" Kai asked. He didn't think Miwa would forget to study again.

"Mine are not as good as yours," Miwa laughed sheepishly. "And besides, I think I got every answer right because of those notes!"

"Alright, here." Kai took out his notes and gave it to Miwa, who looked hesitant. Kai raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Don't you want to study these before you give them to me?" Miwa asked.

"I already have the whole chapter memorized," Kai said dismissively, without thinking. _Oh, great! _"Miwa, don't-"

"You memorized the whole chapter?!" Miwa yelled, making everyone look at them. Kai started to blush but Miwa didn't notice. "No wonder your grades are the best in the school!" Murmurs began to spread around the hall.

"Miwa! That's enough!" Kai whispered harshly, his cheeks a dark shade of red. Miwa finally noticed Kai's blush.

"You're... embarrassed?" Miwa asked in disbelief. Kai muttered something that Miwa took as a 'no'. He knew Kai wasn't so fond of attention but he didn't think he would get embarrassed. But now that Miwa thought about it, it made sense. Kai would always be very quiet and avoid everyone's eye when he would get praised. Maybe Kai is not distant, but shy?! Miwa had to find out.

"Are you shy?" Miwa asked bluntly. Kai immediately looked down. _He is!_ "Is that why you're so distant, because you're shy~?"

"No!" Kai said defensively, not looking up. Miwa grabbed Kai by the shoulders and made him face him. He saw that Kai's entire face was bright red.

"I can't believe it! You're shy!" Miwa gave a cheeky smile and poked one of Kai's blushing cheeks. Kai swatted Miwa's hand and looked away.

"So, what?" Kai mumbled, picking at a loose thread from his blazer, rather timidly.

Miwa just laughed. "Kai's shy~! It even rhymes! I wish I'd known sooner. Wait till everyone hears about this!"

Kai couldn't take the embarrassment anymore. He started to walk away.

"Oi! Kai!" Miwa caught his arm.

"Let go," Kai said meekly, covering his flushed face with his bangs. Miwa tried not to snicker; he'd never seen Kai so mortified.

Miwa patted Kai on the back, making him look up. "My bad. But I don't see what the problem is. You'll get all the girls in the school if they see you like this." Miwa couldn't help but tease him. This was payback for making him freak out about those notes. He knew Kai hated talking about girls in a romantic way. Miwa just wanted to see what his reaction would be now that he knew Kai was shy.

"MIWA!" Kai's face had taken an even darker shade of red. He groaned when he felt his legs shake and his heart speed up. This would always happen whenever someone embarrassed him a little too much. Kai hated it. If Miwa continued teasing him, then...

Miwa whispered in Kai's ear, "Or maybe you already have a girl. Take her out on dates in your free time~?" Kai's face look like it might explode and the next thing Miwa knew, Kai was on the ground, gasping for air.

"You alright?" Miwa bent down to Kai and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was just joking."

Kai heard Miwa, but he wasn't gasping for breath just because he was embarrassed. His heart was beating too fast because of _that_. Once he regained his breath, Kai slowly stood up.

"Kai, you alright?" Miwa repeated his question.

"I'm fine," Kai muttered with a dangerous edge to his tone.

"But-"

"I'M FINE!" Kai shouted. If it was any one else, they probably would've gotten hurt. But Miwa knew Kai, so he chose to act like all this never happened.

Miwa gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry. If it really bothers you, then I'll stop. But seriously, it doesn't hurt to go out on a date with a girl at least once." Well, almost all of this.

Kai kept silent for awhile before speaking. "You know I don't do that," Kai said in a voice barely above whisper.

Miwa decided that Kai was teased enough. "Alright, I'll drop it. Now, hurry up! We're late for our next class!"

Kai followed him wordlessly. He avoided Miwa's gaze and looked down.

"C'mon, Kai! There's no reason for you to give me the silent treatment!"

"...Did you do your science homework?" Kai mumbled. Miwa's eyes widened.

"I forgot!"

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

"Jeez! Are they trying to kill us?!"

Kai blinked. They just left their school. When Kai finally got over that embarrassing incident, Miwa asked him to come over to CardCapital. They decided to take the long way. Kamui and Morikawa were walking beside them, arguing about Grade 3s while Izaki was talking to Reiji and Eiji. Kai was silent as usual. All of them stopped what they were doing when they heard Miwa yell.

Kai was the first to ask. "What do you mean, Miwa?"

"I MEAN our teachers!" Miwa said forcefully. Izaki, Morikawa, and Kamui looked at each other.

"What a boat them?" Kamui asked, fumbling on his words.

"It's _about _them!" Reiji corrected him.

"You got to start reading that dictionary, yo!" Eiji told Kamui, making him groan.

"So, what about them?" Morikawa asked.

"They gave us about a million tests!" Miwa said, freaking out. "We also have to do a history report!"

"Same with us!" Izaki said.

"Us too!" Kamui put in.

"Miwa, you're overreacting," Kai said, his lips slightly twitching into a smile.

"Of course you wouldn't care! I've never once seen you get anything less than an A+!" Miwa retorted, pointing a finger at Kai.

"Really? Not even one F?" Kamui asked, clearly astonished.

"Not even ONE A-!" Miwa said, causing Kai to blush slightly.

"That's amazing!" Izaki praised him.

"Not as amazing as my grades," Morikawa scoffed.

"Oh, please! You probably get nothing higher than an F!" Kamui taunted with a smirk.

"Kamui-san is right!" Reiji agreed.

"KIR!" Eiji abbreviated.

"You little brats!"

"Lose-umi!"

"Miwa, schools ending, of course there are going to be tests," Kai said, trying to ignore the fight going on beside them. Before Miwa could yell again, Kai raised up his hands in defeat. "Fine, you win. How about I help with your history report?"

Miwa shut his mouth. Kamui, Reiji, Eiji, and Morikawa stopped fighting. Izaki carried the shocked face that everyone had. They all stared at Kai, much to his annoyance. _What did I say? _Kai thought.

"Kai... is this some kind of joke?" Miwa asked.

Kai sighed, "I'm serious, Miwa."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

**{Miwa's POV}**

...I couldn't believe it. Kai offered to help me. By himself! Was I whining that much?

Kai's really changed ever since his birthday. He smiles more often and is actually very nice to everyone, even in school. Like that one time he was partnered up with a girl who forgot to do her part of the project. Kai said it was fine, and did the entire project by himself. The others can also tell he's different too. Even Kamui defended him earlier.

I suddenly realized Kai waiting for me to answer him. His face was red. I still can't believe he's shy! But I better answer him before anyone else notices.

"Sure, I'd appreciate it," I said, knowing full well that if I mess this up, my mom will literally ground me for life. I do not want that to happen, I thought as we reached CardCapital.

**{Third person}**

"Welcome," Misaki greeted as Morikawa, Izaki, and Kamui stepped in the card store. Along with, Reiji, Eiji, Miwa, and Kai.

"Yo, sis!" Miwa greeted Misaki. Kai acknowledged Misaki with a nod and followed Miwa to a table.

"Oi! Toshiki Kai!"

Kai turned his head and responded, "Naoki Ishida." Kai saw Shingo, Aichi, and Kourin sitting next to him.

"I challenge you to a cardfight!" Naoki said, raising his deck. Kai was about to answer him when the whole room started to look fuzzy. Kai blinked. Everything was normal.

"...Sure," Kai answered. _Probably imagined it, _he thought. Kai stepped up to the cardfighting table and placed his starter. Naoki did the same. They started the cardfight. Naoki put up a good fight but Kai won in the end.

"Darn it!" Naoki yelled, annoyed that he lost.

"You've gotten stronger." Kai gathered his cards and put them in his pocket. He walked back to where Miwa was and sat across from him.

"Nice job, Kai!" Miwa congratulated him. Kai just nodded. Kai started to feel sick and his chest was hurting again. He folded his arms on the table and laid down his head. Miwa frowned worriedly at him, _Just how sick is he?_

"Um, Kai? Would it be too much to ask if you could help us with our history reports, too?" Izaki asked, gesturing to himself and Morikawa. _Wait, what? _Kai thought, extremely surprised.

"Izaki! Why did you ask Kai to help us?!" Morikawa yelled. Misaki shut him up with a glare but she was also curious.

"Because I don't want have to get detention for the rest of the semester!" Izaki answered. He turned back to Kai, "Please Kai?" Izaki asked Kai hopefully. Kai couldn't think. Everyone was staring at him again.

Thankfully, Naoki spoke up, "But why Kai? I mean, you could always ask Aichi or Misaki. No offense."

"Because Kai has never got anything less than an A+!" Kamui answered

"Kai-kun, that's amazing!" Aichi said, looking at his idol with even more admiration.

"How do you do it?" Naoki inquired, in awe.

"I just study," Kai shrugged, feeling uneasy with all the attention.

"Well, in that case, why don't you help us with our work?" Kamui asked, gesturing to Reiji, Eiji, and himself. That did it. Kai wasn't going to stay quiet anymore.

"Why can't you guys study yourselves?" he asked, exasperated.

"Because we don't want to mess up!" Kamui said, not backing off.

"Then how about we make it a field trip!" Shin said excitedly, coming from behind the counter. There was something in his hand.

"A field trip?" Kourin repeated. "What does that have to do with this?"

Shin held out what was in his hand for everyone to see. It was a flyer. "I won us a free trip to an amusement park!" Shin said excitedly.

"Awesome!" Kamui said, also excited.

"What's it called?" Misaki asked.

"The name's a little strange," Shin laughed. "It's called Fant. Universe."

"What does it have?" Shingo asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Tons of stuff!" Shin claimed. "Water slides, go karts, food, and millions of roller coasters!" Kai stiffened. _WHAT?!_ he thought, freaking out.

"I still don't see what that has to do with Kai helping us?" Miwa voiced the question everyone else was wondering.

Shin smiled at Kai, "Kai-kun can help all of you while we're there." Kai gulped.

"That's a great idea, Tencho!" Aichi said.

"I'm surprised," Misaki said sarcastically.

"Kai! You in or what?!" Naoki demanded.

"Sure, it's fine with me," Kai said nonchalantly. _I just made a big mistake,_ Kai sighed. He didn't realize he was twirling his necklace.

"Then it's settled! The trip starts tomorrow!" Shin said with a huge smile.

"I'm so pumped!"

"We're going to have fun and get helped by the one and only, Kai Toshiki!"

"Talk about hitting one bucket with two loans!"

"Eh? Kamui-kun?"

"It's hitting one _bird _with two _stones_!"

"The dictionary, yo!"

"Forget about studying! We're going to an amusement park!"

"You of all people need to study, Morikawa!"

"Will you be able to come, Kourin?"

"Yeah. After today, Suiko, Rekka, and I are off for awhile."

Kai couldn't hear anything around him. _I'm going to be helping all of them? _Kai asked himself, trying to fathom how he got in to this mess. Kai ran his hands through his hair. _It wasn't like I could say no._ _I should probably leave now before I'm volunteered to do anything else, _he thought as he grabbed his bag and stood up.

"Kai, where are you going?" his blond friend asked him. He knew Kai was not comfortable with this.

"Home," came Kai's reply, wanting nothing more than to leave.

"I've got to leave too," Kourin said, standing up. "I have a commercial that I need to do tonight."

"I need to go too," Shingo added. "I want to make sure I pack everything I need."

"Why don't we all go home and get some sleep?" Izaki suggested. Everyone agreed, and left CardCapital.

**{Kai's house}**

Kai was laying on his bed. He had found Blitz on a couch in his living room and decided to let him sleep. Kai wasn't exactly in the best shape to be knocked to the ground at the moment, anyway.

Kai's stomach growled, though, he didn't feel like eating. He felt sick. Kai nearly fainted on his way to his room. Everything had looked fuzzy again and if Kai had eaten, he would have thrown up. Kai had a feeling this would get worse with each passing day.

"Why did it have to be an amusement park?"

Images of two dead people smiling with eyes that looked empty flashed in his mind. Kai felt like his heart was ripped out of his body. _In and out. In and out, _Kai mentally repeated to himself, trying to get some air. He was so focused on it that he nearly fell off his bed and screamed when he felt Blitz rub against him. Kai laid back down, groaning from the pain in his chest.

Blitz snuggled up to Kai and he pulled Blitz closer. Kai felt like he would lose any trace of sanity he had left if he let go. Blitz nuzzled Kai's chest, calming Kai's heart. He felt at peace now that Blitz was here.

"I-I'm... alright, boy," Kai gasped out. Blitz wasn't convinced. He barked in retaliation and snuggled closer to Kai as if saying 'I'm not budging'. Kai smiled, grateful that he had such a loyal dog. Kai was fast asleep in mere moments after that and Blitz followed.

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

**End of the first chapter.**

**Alrighty! So Kai is keeping another secret. Don't know why I give him so many. :) But he did always keep to himself, so anything that he knows will probably be a secret. Can you guys guess why Kai doesn't want to go to the amusement park? Just want to hear your thoughts.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard.**


	2. Something is wrong

**Hello, everyone!** **Here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Chapter 2: Something is wrong...**

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"This is taking forever!" Naoki complained impatiently. He wanted to get to there now, but the train could only go so fast.

"It's barely been an hour," Izaki stated.

"The amusement park is pretty far away," Shingo informed him. "That's why we're going to be gone for a while, Porcupine Head!"

"Whaddya' call me, Granny Glasses?!" Naoki retorted.

"Enough you two!" Misaki ordered, an intense glare on her face that made both boys stop arguing.

"Do they always act like this, Aichi?" Emi asked her older brother. She and her friend Mai wanted to come along for the ride. Aichi just laughed, nervously.

"Now, now," Shin said, trying to avoid anything unnecessary. "We're going to be spending our time at the amusement park but first we have to find a hotel."

"WHAT?!" Naoki yelled, startling everyone else in the train. Kai turned his gaze from out the window to Naoki, annoyed. Naoki went on yelling, completely oblivious that Kai was glaring at him. "But I waited all night to go to there so I could ride the roller coasters and-"

**"SHUT UP!"**

Everyone froze and stared at Kai who looked like he would kill them if they spoke. Miwa winced since he was sitting right next to him. Everyone inched away from Kai, scared.

Kai seemed to realize what he said and sighed. He didn't mean to yell but he wasn't in the best of moods. Even though Blitz slept with him, Kai woke up early, feeling like he hadn't slept at all. He still felt sick and his chest still hurt too. Plus, Naoki had to bring up _roller coasters_. Kai couldn't keep quiet after that.

"Sorry. Long night," Kai apologized quietly.

"...O-oh, l-look we're here," Kamui pointed out, still frightened by Kai's outburst. Everyone wordlessly grabbed their bags and stepped out of the train. The sun was pretty bright and the wind, chilly. Kai didn't think he could feel any worse.

They booked a hotel and stepped into their rooms. Kai, Miwa, Aichi, and Kamui were in one. Morikawa, Izaki, Eiji, and Reiji in another. Naoki and Shingo shared a room. Misaki, Kourin, Emi, and Mai were in the next room. Shin was in the room across from the girls.

"I call the top one!" Kamui ran to one of the bunk beds and climbed to the top bunk.

Kai looked around the room. It was decent. There were two bunk beds, side-by-side. The top bunks had red sheets and the bottom bunks had blue sheets. There were nightstands on the left and right of the beds. Two big dressers with mirrors stood across from the beds. Two doors were on the left and right of the room, which Kai assumed, were bathrooms. The thing that Kai liked the most was the balcony to the far left of the room.

"Man! This must have been expensive!" Miwa exclaimed, checking the place out. "How did we afford it?"

"The price was lowered because the free trip also let's us stay at a hotel of our choosing," Aichi informed him.

Kai started to unpack his clothes and place them in one of the dressers. He saw Kamui and Aichi share the other dresser, so he would be sharing it with Miwa.

"Which one do you want?" Miwa asked him, pointing at the beds.

"Don't care," Kai quietly answered.

"...Alright. Kamui and I will get the top bunks and you and Aichi can get the bottom bunks," Miwa announced. Everyone went to a big living room that had windows all over and a big balcony that overlooked the city. They saw everyone else their, already seated on brown sofas. They joined them and started chatting.

**{Miwa's POV}**

I was chatting with Izaki about how everything looked here. Kai didn't speak at all. What's wrong with him?

"How are you all doing?" Shin asked, coming in the room. His question was met with a series of 'Great' and 'I love this place'.

"By the way, when are we going to the amusement park?" I inquired, unaware that Kai snapped his head toward me.

"Well, I got some bad news," Shin reluctantly informed us. "The amusement park had some problems, and won't open untill tomorrow." Shin laughed nervously.

"What?!" Kamui yelled, but immediately covered his mouth. We all glanced nervously at Kai, but he didn't look mad. He looked... relieved?

"...So, we're staying here for now?" Kai asked after a moment of silence.

"Mmhm. I was thinking you guys could get started on your history reports, so you would be free for the rest of the time," Shin stated. Man! I was really hoping to do that after we check out the amusement park! But I guess it would be better if we finished early. Although, not everyone was happy with this.

"Seriously?! Can't we somehow convince those guys to open the amusement park or somethin'?!" Naoki shouted, not able to wait for tomorrow.

"Um, Ishida, maybe we should just do it," Shingo said nervously, not looking at him. Naoki followed his eyes and gulped. I gulped right along with him. Kai was glaring daggers at Naoki. He seemed to have demonic flames around him. No one said anything. It was so quiet you could hear a pin fall. Well, I might just be digging my own grave, but here go's nothing.

"...I-I guess we could get started on our w-work," I stuttered. When Kai looked at me, I thought my heart would stop. Fortunately, he wasn't glaring. He seemed okay with the idea.

We all took out papers and pencils and started. Kai lightened up a bit. He helped anyone who didn't know what to do, particularly me.

"Arrgghhh! I don't get how you have the patience to do this, Kai!" I exclaimed. Mr. 'I'm perfect at anything I do' was _calmly_ writing his history report while helping all of us. Hey, isn't he missing something?

"Hey, Kai? All of us brought a book about the thing we're writing about, so where's yours?"

"I have everything memorized, so there's no need for it."

"You mean you can write an entire history report from memory?!" Naoki's mouth dropped.

"No big deal," Kai shrugged modestly. That jerk! He has everything made for him, and then he has the nerve to not even brag! Seriously, how does he act so modest when he's so perfect at everything? Oh, yeah. He's shy. Hehe. Still trying to process that.

"That's amazing, Kai-senpai!" Emi smiled cutely.

"You're so smart, Kai-senpai!" Mai looked at him in admiration.

Wait, wait, wait, WHAT?! SENPAI?! What's up with that? I didn't even know they knew each other!

Everyone gaped at the girls. Kamui looked devastated. Kai facepalmed. The two girls were confused by this.

"What?" they asked in usion.

"...E-E-Emi-san!" Kamui had animated tears coming down his face as he screamed in his head, _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

"Emi-san admires Kai-senpai, but not Kamui-san," Reiji sadly explained to those who didn't know why he was crying.

"EAKBN."

Kamui stopped crying and looked like he was going to explode. "You're also calling that **jerk** 'senpai'?!"

Reiji and Eiji didn't know where to hide. Emi and Mai looked angry.

"Kai-senpai isn't a jerk, he is very kind," Mai said, frowning.

"That's right, _Kamui_!" Emi put her hands on her hips. "You should apologize."

Oooh, that's got to hurt! Poor guy... Kamui looked like he would die.

"Wow, talk about getting rejected," Morikawa smirked. Izaki wasn't even going to try explain how Kourin rejects him.

"...But, how did you meet Kai, Mai-san?" Misaki voiced everyone else's thoughts. Kai covered his face with his hands, _Here we go again._

Mai smiled. "Emi and I wanted to hang out at a park, but it was a new park that's far away from where we live."

"We kind of got lost." Emi laughed sheepishly. "Then, it started to rain and we didn't know what to do."

Mai continued, "That's when we ran into Kai-senpai." She smiled at the brunet.

"He helped us find are way back and walked us home," Emi said with a cute smile.

"He w-w-w-w... " Kamui tried to ask but couldn't complete his sentence.

"Oh, he also cardfightfought us," Mai almost forgot. Okay, that explains the senpai thing. He probably taught them how to improve their decks, so they started calling him senpai.

Everyone looked at Kai. Kai tried not to squirm with a look that said, _I'm like a magnet for attention!_

"...You really now how to shock people, Kai," I nudged him. I knew Kai was trying not to blush. It was hilarious!

"When did this happen anyway?" Kourin asked.

"After my birthday," Kai said. Kourin's eyes widened. That's strange.

"When was your birthday?" she asked, strangely interested. Maybe she likes parties?

"Oh, didn't you know?" Misaki asked, though, it almost sounded like she was sneering. "We celebrated his birthday at CardCapital about a week ago."

"...B-but-"

"You mean we missed your birthday, Kai-senpai?" Emi interrupted Kourin, seeming crestfallen.

"And we didn't even get you a present, Kai-senpai!" Mai added, looking even sadder than Emi. Ho ho! Kai's got a little admirer~.

Kai rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortably. "It's fine. I actually forgot it was my birthday until the night before, so it would've been too late. I'm not some special person or anything. You don't have to buy me any presents." Typical. The people who don't want much have everything at their feet. Why is life so cruel?!

"But, Kai-senpai! You are special and it would be rude if we didn't buy you a present!" Mai insisted.

"It wouldn't hurt to let them do it," I said to my best friend before changing into whisper. "Besides, they seem to really admire you, especially Mai-chan." I winked.

"...If you have no problem with it," Kai answered after a moment. The girls' faces lit up and said they had absolutely no problem with it.

"I don't mean to be a wet blanket," Shingo said, "but we really should get back to work." We resumed our work. Unfortunately.

I noticed Kourin staring at Kai and saw that Misaki was frowning at her. What gives? I heard Kai sigh, sounding pretty tired. He started to write a bit faster for a moment and then laid his head back on the sofa. Kai closed his eyes, probably taking a breather. I have a feeling he's still sick. I should let him relax for a moment and focus on my work.

Okay, almost done, I thought as I wrote the next sentence. I have no idea how Kai can do this so effortlessly! Speaking of Kai, I've never seen him that mad before. I mean, he can glare at people but it wasn't like he was terrifying.

Back at CardCapital, he seemed strange. Like at school. I saw how he acted but after finding out he was shy and sick, I thought it was nothing. But when he started gasping for breath, I knew something was wrong. Hang on a sec! Kai was gasping back when he was laughing! I was so worried about how I would do on the test that I completely forgot!

But why? I mused as I wrote another sentence. Break time! I stretched my arms. That wasn't so bad. I should probably let Kai see this, just incase there's anything wrong with it.

"Hey, Kai? Can you see if this is good?" I dropped my paper when I saw him. He was asleep!

**{Third person}**

"What happened to him?" Naoki asked. Everyone else saw that Kai was asleep too.

"He looks exhausted," Misaki noted, though in her mind, she thought he looked cute.

"Do you think that's why he's been acting so strange?" Kamui asked.

"Maybe. He kept on getting angry whenever we mentioned the amusement park," Kourin stated.

"Hey, you're right!" Naoki realized and shivered at the memory. "It was creepy."

"He's probably afraid," Morikawa scoffed.

"Afraid?" Aichi repeated. "Of what?"

"The amusement park!" Morikawa said as if it was obvious.

"Oookay. Well, I'm going to wake him up," Miwa said. He gently shook Kai's shoulders. Kai slowly opened his eyes and looked at Miwa.

"I never realized how boring homework was, Kai," Miwa teased him with a grin. Kai blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what was going on. He snapped out of his drowsy state and glared at Miwa. Kai sat up straighter and yawned.

"You're still sleepy?" Miwa raised an eyebrow. "Is this sickness serious?" he asked, lowering his voice so that only Kai could hear him.

Kai was wide awake now. The last thing he wanted was for someone to find out. He shook his head, "I'm fine. I just wasn't able to sleep last night."

Miwa nodded. "So, can you make sure this is right?" He handed Kai his history report. Kai looked it over.

"Um, so where is this guy from?" Kai smiled in amusement.

"Okay, so I made some mistakes," Miwa sighed in aggravation. "But, what about you? Did you make any mistakes?" Miwa had never seen Kai mess up on his homework.

"Don't get mad," Kai warned him, raising up his hands. "I... already finished," he gave a sympathetic smile.

Miwa groaned. "Give me a break!"

"You don't seem to like homework, Miwa-kun," Aichi said. Kai snickered. It was Miwa's turn to glare at Kai.

Kai gave an innocent look. "I didn't say anything."

"Shut up!"

Kai started to laugh.

"I noticed you only laugh at my torture!" Miwa accused, though his lips were twitching upwards.

"Imagination!" Kai managed to say through his laughter.

"Imagination my foot!" Miwa retorted, but couldn't hold in a small chuckle.

Everyone watched the exchange with both bewilderment and shock. They'd never seen Miwa and Kai joke around like this. Well, they've seen Miwa but not Kai. They wondered if it was always like this, except Emi and Mai. They thought it was cute how they joked around like best friends. Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a growl. They all turned to Aichi.

"Ehehe. Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Well, it is close to dinner time," Izaki looked at his watch.

"Let's order pizza!" Kamui declared.

"Alright, I'll go order," Misaki volunteered. "You guys can set the table."

They put away their homework and placed napkins, plates, and sodas on the table. Once the pizza came, they all started eating.

"Mind if I sit here?" Kourin asked Kai if she could sit on the chair next to him.

"Uh, sure," Kai agreed, a little confused. _Why didn't she sit next to Aichi?_ Kai knew Kourin had a crush on Aichi, or at least he thought.

"Thanks," Kourin smiled, her cheeks a little red. She sat down and began to eat her pizza. Kai did the same.

Everyone chatted away about life, aside from Kai, Kourin, and Misaki. Emi whispered something to Mai and they nodded.

"Kourin-san?" Kourin looked at Emi. "Would you like to buy Kai-senpai a present with us?"

Kai nearly choked on his pizza. Kourin also looked surprised.

"But Emi-san, Kourin doesn't have to buy a present for Kai," Misaki had a slight edge to her tone.

"And what if I want to?" Kourin countered, frowning.

"Oh, well, you're too busy with your idol work to do that," Misaki sneered. This time, everyone could hear it. Miwa glanced at Kai, mentally asking what's going on. Kai shook his head; he didn't know much about Kourin and Misaki. Only that they didn't use to get along.

"Excuse me?"

Kourin banged her hands on the table and stood up from her chair. The tension was thick. "You think I'm too busy in the limelight to care about others?!" She glared at Misaki. "What do you take me for?!"

"Just what you're, of course," Misaki played with her nails, seeming bored with the conversation.

Kourin had it. She looked like she was about to strangle Misaki.

"Kourin."

Kourin turned to Kai.

"Just calm down," he said. "If you want to buy me something, that's fine. You don't have to get permission from anyone." Kai gave a pointed look to Misaki who had a strange look that he couldn't place.

Kourin sat back down and smiled to Kai in gratitude, "Thanks."

"No problem," Kai gave a barely, noticeable smile. He saw Miwa give him a thumbs-up.

Everyone began talking again, careful not to mention the event that had just occurred. Kourin was chatting with Emi and Mai about when should they buy a present. Misaki stayed quiet. Miwa was on his seventh slice of pizza. _He's going to get sick, _Kai thought.

"Miwa, maybe you shouldn't-"

Kai's hand immediately went to his chest and he bit his lip to prevent a scream. He shut his eyes, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. Kai took a deep breath and opened his eyes, as the pain went away.

"What were you saying, Kai?" Miwa was chatting with Izaki, so he didn't notice Kai's little episode.

"...I-I said you shouldn't have so many pizza slices," Kai managed to say. "Y-you'll get s-sick." Kai wanted to kick himself. He never stutters, only when something is wrong. Kai might as well just hold up a sign that said, _"I'm hiding something!"_

Thankfully, Miwa probably had too many sodas because he didn't notice."Psh! No, I won't!" Miwa said, shaking with energy. "How many pizzas have you eaten anyway?"

"How many?" Kai repeated. He had only eaten two small ones, but if he tells Miwa that, he'll probably make a big scene. Kai knew he wouldn't be able to take that.

Luckily, Shin came in the room and told them it was time for bed. They all went to their rooms.

"I call the shower!" Kamui ran to the bathroom and shut the door.

Kai grabbed a black T-shirt and white pants and went to the other bathroom. He came back out changed and saw that Kamui was already out.

"Hahaha! What's up with your hair?" Kamui laughed, pointing at Kai's hair. His spiky locks were smoothed down, giving him a completely opposite look of what he usually looks like.

"I never knew you had long hair," Miwa commented with a smile. Now that Kai's hair was smoothed down, it went almost to his elbows. Kai just shook his head and dried his hair. He didn't seem to mind his new look and laid down.

Miwa and Aichi both took a shower and got in bed.

"Onii-san, do you know why Misaki-san was acting like that?" Kamui asked Aichi.

Aichi shook his head. "I don't know why she treated Kourin-san like that," he replied from the bottom bunk.

"Misaki was also glaring at Kourin the whole day," Miwa joined their conversation.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I don't know why," Miwa shook his head with a frown. "It isn't like her."

"What do you think, Kai-kun?" Aichi asked for Kai's opinion. He had his arm over his eyes and hadn't spoken the entire time. There was no answer.

"Kai?" Miwa looked at the bunk below him. Still no answer. Miwa gently moved Kai's arm away from his face. Kai's eyes were closed, his breath labored, and his lips slightly apart.

"He's asleep already?!" Kamui almost shouted. Both Aichi and Miwa shushed him, not wanting to disturb Kai. Kamui lowered his voice to a whisper, "Seriously, what's wrong with him? First, he offered to help Miwa, then he freaks out whenever we mention the amusement park, and now he looks like he hasn't slept in days when he's been sleeping ALL day!"

"He's just overwhelmed from helping all of us," Miwa said, hoping to get their attention off of Kai. Instead, he just made it worse.

"You mean Kai was bothered by that?" Kamui asked, incredulously. "Why?"

Miwa tensed. _Idiot! The last thing you want to do is tell them that Kai is shy! _

_BOOM!_

"Whoa, that was loud!" Kamui exclaimed. The sound of rain hitting the window could be heard throughout their room.

"It's late and we should go to sleep if we want to go to the amusement park," Miwa said, thinking quickly.

Kamui stopped talking and closed his eyes after that. Aichi did the same.

_Whew! Close call,_ Miwa folded his hands behind his head. He also wondered why Kai has been acting different. Miwa felt hurt that Kai still didn't trust him, but then thought the feeling was stupid._ It isn't like him to tell people how he feels. Maybe it's embarrassing and he doesn't want to get teased,_ Miwa mused. Still, he had hoped that Kai would tell him what was wrong. _Maybe tomorrow. _He didn't hear Kai gasping for breath in the bunk below him. He didn't see Kai's pale, sweating face. He didn't see any of it. Miwa was fast asleep.

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

**End of the second chapter.**

**So, how was it? I used that title not just for Kai, but also for Misaki. I've wondered if I should change this to a romance story because there is quite a bit of it. You all probably already know why Misaki acted like that. :) Thanks for reading!**


	3. Harsh words

**Now I know last chapter may not have been liked by KaiSaki fans, so I hope this will make up for it. :) Enjoy!**

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Harsh words**

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

Kai clutched his chest and clenched his teeth. The pain was unbearable. All night he felt it. It would hurt so much and then it would lessen just as quick. At the moment, Kai felt like someone was ripping out his bones from the inside. And just like that, the pain left. Kai slowly opened his eyes and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was only 3:15. He just stared at it, too tired to care or to even form any thoughts. Loud booms of thunder ringed in Kai's ears. His grip on his shirt loosened and his eyes felt heavy. Kai felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go back sleep when he remembered something.

"The amusement park!" Kai exclaimed, though his voice was hoarse and too quiet to awake the other three boys in the room. Kai didn't think he could go to sleep now. He felt too jittery. Kai was even tempted to wake up Miwa and tell him his problem. But he couldn't. Kai was never one to tell people about his problems, especially if they were big. He knew if he told anyone about this, they'd start acting cautious around him and would never treat him normally again.

Kai groaned as the pain returned. And even though his heart was beating a million miles an hour, Kai fell asleep.

When it was time to get out of bed, Kai was still asleep; not even aware of the voices going on around him.

"He's still asleep!?"

"Shhh! Kamui-kun, you may wake him."

"That's the point, Onii-san!"

"We should probably wake him up. He needs to get ready if he wants to go to the amusement park."

"Except that he doesn't. I wonder why."

"Maybe we can ask him after he wakes up, Kamui-kun."

"I'll wake him up. Why don't you guys take a shower? We'll go after you're done."

"Okay."

"Time to get up, Kai. You've had enough sleep."

Kai groggily opened his eyes and stared at Miwa who pulled him into a sitting position. A yawn escaped the tired brunet's mouth.

"Kai, you're not still sick, are you?" Miwa asked. Kai lazily shook his head no.

"Then what's wrong? You've been acting very strange," Miwa said, worried for his friend.

Kai seemed to wake up a little. "Nothing's wrong," Kai said, rubbing his tired eyes.

Miwa gave him a 'yeah right' look and sighed. "Fine. Hurry up and get ready, we're going to the amusement park, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Kai said sarcastically. Miwa didn't miss the panic and aggravation in his voice.

"You're not afraid of going there, are you?" Miwa gave a teasing grin. He was shocked when Kai tensed. "Kai-"

"Look who finally decided to wake up!" Kamui interrupted him, coming out of the bathroom. Aichi stepped out of the other bathroom.

"Did anyone ever tell you you look like a kid when you sleep?" Kamui snickered.

Rather than get mad, Kai ignored him and took the opportunity to make a quick escape. He grabbed some clothes from the dresser and went to the bathroom.

Miwa frowned. Something wasn't right. And he was going to find out. Picking up his own clothes, he went to the other bathroom.

"Are you _enticed_ to go to the amusement park, Onii-san?" Kamui asked, mixing up his words. Before Aichi could correct him, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

"Good morning," Misaki stepped in the room, followed by Emi and Mai.

"Emi-san!" Kamui blushed.

"Good morning, Kamui-kun!" Emi smiled cutely, causing Kamui to daydream about them getting married.

"Good morning, Misaki-san," Aichi greeted her.

"Hey, Aichi," Misaki replied.

"Where's Kai-senpai?" Mai asked. As if he heard her, Kai stepped out of the bathroom. He was wearing a dark purple T-shirt, with a royal blue jacket over it. He wore a brown belt around his sleek black pants.

"Kai?!" Misaki blushed when she saw Kai's smooth, long hair and the droplets of water that rolled down his face. _He looks cute. Wait, why I'm I thinking these stuff?! It's not like I have a crush on him or anything! _

"Um, is it that much of a shock?" Kai asked, sounding a bit uncomfortable. Misaki realized she was staring at him.

"Uh, n-no, I-I was just... " Misaki racked her brain for something to. "I didn't think you were the type of guy to have long hair." _Why did I say that?! _

Kai looked away, a barely noticeable blush on his face. _Sh-she thinks about me?_ Kai felt his cheeks burn. He silently dried his hair with a towel.

"Good morning, Kai-senpai!" Emi greeted him.

"Kai-senpai, you look great!" Mai complemented him.

Kai turned with a small smile. "Hey, Emi-chan. Mai-chan."

Kamui snapped out of his daydream and gaped, "Emi-CHAN?!"

"Yes?" Emi looked at Kamui, confused. Kai just ignored him and proceeded to comb his hair. Within seconds, his hair was back to normal.

"Morning, ladies!" Miwa came out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Miwa-kun!" the two girls said in usion.

"Morning," Misaki said, absently. She was trying to convince herself that she wasn't in love with Kai, though, it didn't help that she kept on glancing at him.

Miwa looked from Kai to Misaki and smirked. _Well, what do we have here? _he thought, cheekily. "If I'm right, and Misaki is mad at Kourin, then that could only mean... " Miwa's smirk increased.

He walked over to Kai. "You lucky dog!" He slapped Kai's shoulder, startling him.

Kai looked at him, quizzically, "Pardon?"

Miwa just smiled. "I would tell you right now, except _someone _would eat me alive, so I'll wait."

"O... kay?" This only confused Kai even more, but he wasn't complaining. At least, Miwa had let go about their earlier conversation. Kai knew it was only a matter of time before Miwa finds out.

"Why don't we go meet the others?" Aichi said as he sweatdropped. Kamui was glowering at Kai. Mai was staring at Kai like he was the coolest person in the world while Emi was smiling at him. Misaki kept on glancing at Kai and then looking at her feet and Miwa was grinning from ear to ear at Kai with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Everyone's attention was on Kai, whether he liked it or not._ It's a little strange, _Aichi thought as they all went to the living room.

"Good morning!" everyone else greeted them.

"How did you all sleep?" Shin asked.

"I slept like a hog!" Kamui sat down on the couch.

"It's _log, _Kamui-san!" Reiji said.

"ILK!" Eiji abbreviated him.

"Whatever."

"So, are we goin' to the park or what?!" Naoki demanded.

"Well, I was thinking-"

_GROWEL..._

Everyone turned to Kai who coughed uncomfortably. "Guess I'm a bit hungry."

"Are you kidding? How can you be hungry after all those pizzas we ate?" Kamui asked. "I had two large slices and one medium one."

"I had three _extra_ large slices, three medium ones, and one small one," Miwa said proudly.

"Hah! I had eight extra large slices!" Morikawa countered smugly.

"Yeah. And you were in the bathroom for half the night," Izaki muttered.

"Who asked you?!"

"So, Kai, how many slices did you eat?" Miwa repeated his question from last night.

"Uh... "

"C'mon! Whaddya' eat?" Naoki urged him. "Ten jumbo slices?"

_What?_ Kai thought. "No, I only ate two small ones," Kai regretted saying that. Everyone began speaking to him at once.

"TWO SMALL SLICES?"

"So, you sleep like a kid and eat like one?!"

"I can't believe you only ate two!"

"Jeez! You don't know how to have fun!"

"You could have eaten a little more."

"Are you sick, Kai-kun?"

"Kai-senpai, is something bothering you?"

"You have been acting strange, Kai-senpai."

"What's up with you?"

This wasn't good. Everyone began to notice that something was off. Kai may have been willing to tell Miwa what was wrong, but not everyone else.

"Alright," Shin clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sure Kai-kun had a good reason, so there's no need to worry."

"Hmph! Who would worry about someone like him?!" Morikawa huffed. "He's so cold, it's not like anyone cares!"

The harsh words bothered Kai but he stayed silent. It would only encourage Morikawa if he said anything.

"I know, it's like the jerk never had a family!" Kamui put in. He felt a bit guilty for saying something like that. It may have been true the first time they met, but Kai had changed drastically since then. He only said that because Kai stole Emi's attention from him. "Whatever family he has must hate him. No wonder he acts like a kid!"

"A kid? Oh, that's a good one," Morikawa snickered.

That stung Kai. It reminded him of how he didn't have a family. A knot formed in his stomach.

"Kamui-kun!" Aichi gasped. "That was really harsh!"

"So, what! The jerk is heartless anyway," Kamui retorted.

"Kamui-kun! You'll hurt his feelings!" Emi exclaimed.

That angered Kamui. Why did she side with Kai and not with him? "Who cares! With an attitude like that, his family probably threw him out! And why not? He's a nobody!"

Everyone gasped. Miwa got angry. He knew Kamui was jealous of Kai but this was going too far. Before he could do anything, Kai ran past him, opened the door, and left.

"Kai!" Miwa ran after him. The others followed. Kai ran past elevators and opened the door that said STAIRES. He knew they'd catch up to him if he took the elevator and right now, the only thing he could think of was to get away. Kai had heard enough.

He ran down the steps, taking two at a time. Kai reached the lobby and made a break for the door, not even looking at the people he passed. He heard Miwa yell his name but he ignored him and ran out of the hotel. Kai made a sharp left on a corner and continued to make lefts and rights, hoping to lose them. Kai continued to run, splashing himself with water from the puddles that were made by last night's storm. The harsh words that were said to him earlier replayed in his head.

_"Who would worry about someone like him?!"_

Kai snapped his eyes shut, wanting so badly to forget what happened. _It's not true. It's not true, _Kai repeated in his head but the words still came to him.

_"It's not like anyone cares!"_

Kai ran even faster, ignoring the protesting pain in his chest. He hardly realized he was panting for breath and if he opened his eyes, he would start seeing spots. _It's not true! It's not-_

"Whoa!"

Kai rammed into something with a lot of force and fell backwards, his body scraping the pavement. Kai coughed up some blood. His vision started to go out. He didn't hear the gasp of someone next to him or the person's swift footsteps running up to him. Kai could only hear those harsh words that echoed in his head.

_"The guy is heartless anyway!"_

_"It's like the jerk never had a family!"_

_"With an attitude like that, his family probably threw him out! And why not? He's a nobody!"_

His family probably threw him out.

Him.

The guy that no one cares about.

Him.

The jerk that never had a family.

Him.

The nobody. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody.

These thoughts were burning a whole in Kai's heart. Making him feel helpless. Pathetic. Unwanted. Everything began to take its toll: the pain in his chest, the exhaustion and hunger he's been feeling. And the pain of those words all hit him like a rock. Before he finally passed out, Kai saw big blur of dark green.

Everything was black.

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

**End of the third chapter.**

**Now I know why people love making cliffhangers! I'm thinking of putting some more KaiSaki, but it'll probably be way later. Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard. (forgot to put this in the last chapter, my bad)**


	4. Disappeared

**Here is the long-awaited chapter! Now it may be a little short. But the next chapter will be longer! This chapter will explain why Kai was hurt so much in the last chapter ****but if you still ****don't ****understand,**** then read my other story "A Happy Birthday". Hope you enjoy! **

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Chapter 4: Disappeared**

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

"Kamui! How could you have said all that?!" Miwa demanded. They were all back in the living room. All except for Kai. They tried searching for him but the city was big and unfamiliar. Right now, Miwa was looking at Kamui with so much anger, they hardly recognized him. All the girls were giving Kamui intense glares.

"Hey! Don't go blaming me!" Kamui said, uncomfortable with everyone looking angry at him. "The guy hardly ever reacts to anything. How would I know he would get hurt?!"

Misaki glared even harder at Kamui. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because NO ONE likes to hear that their family threw them out?!"

"Or that no one cares about them?" Kourin glared at Morikawa. She and Misaki were in agreement, which did not help their situation.

"You guys don't realize how much that really hurt Kai!" Miwa shouted.

"What! So he's sensitive now?"

"No! It hurt him because his family DID throw him out!" Miwa snapped, shocking everyone. "After his parents died, his uncle took him in. He didn't care about Kai at all. The minute Kai was old enough to live by himself, his uncle threw him out, telling him that his family didn't want anything to do with him!"

Everyone gasped. They had no idea that Kai went through all that. Kamui and Morikawa both felt extremely guilty. What they said had to have hurt a lot more than any of them thought.

"HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD MAKE HIM FEEL?! LIKE NO ONE CARED ABOUT HIM! LIKE A NOBODY!" Miwa shouted so loud, everyone's ears hurt. His eyes began to feel wet and he was sure he'd start crying soon. Miwa felt worse than all of them. He should have said something. He just didn't want to make Kai get unnecessary attention. Now, what would Kai think? That his best friend was against him? That he believed Kai was a nobody?

"It'll be alright, Miwa-kun," Aichi said comfortingly. Miwa could only nod.

"Aichi-kun is right," Shin said lightly. "We just have to figure out what to do."

"Ain't it obvious?" Naoki said with a determined look on his face. "We split up and look till we find 'em!"

Miwa just shook his head. "And then what? We say sorry and then tell him to come back and be happy after all that? Kai isn't like that. "And even if we do find him and somehow make him come back, he won't speak. He'll keep his distance from us and act like a totally different person." Miwa wiped some tears that had rolled down his face.

"With a past like that, how can you blame him?" Misaki said quietly, feeling bad for Kai. Everyone else felt the same way.

"So, what should we do?" Emi asked.

Miwa thought about it. "He won't let himself be found, at least not now. I think we should give him time to cool down and maybe he'll come back. "

"Alright. So... should we go to the amusement park?" Izaki asked slowly. He wasn't sure if everyone was okay to just go and enjoy themselves while Kai was hurt.

Miwa didn't like the idea at all. Although, if he stayed here, he'll probably only feel worse about the whole thing. "It couldn't hurt."

They all left the hotel and walked to the park.

"We're here," Miwa announced, but there was no enthusiasm in his voice. Not even the excited screams of kids, or the amazing rides could cheer him up. The others looked at Miwa sympathetically.

"Hey, check out that huge slide!" Izaki pointed, hoping to lift Miwa's spirits.

"Why don't we get in line?" Kourin understood what he was doing and played along. "It looks fun."

"Sure," Miwa said, his voice a void of emotion. For the rest of the day, everyone tried to cheer him up by showing him cool rides and playing interesting games. After awhile, Miwa was back to his old self. Although, every now-and-then, he'd look to his side, forgetting Kai wasn't there.

Once they were back at the hotel, Miwa went to the room he shared, hoping to find Kai there. But the room was empty. Miwa sighed.

"Is Kai-kun here?" Aichi came into the room. Miwa shook his head. They left the room and met up with everyone.

"He wasn't in any of the other rooms, either," Misaki said.

"So, should we go look for him?" Shingo asked.

Miwa sighed. "No. He'll probably stay at some other hotel for the night. Let's wait till tomorrow."

"Are you sure, Miwa-senpai?" Kamui asked him.

"Yeah," Miwa mumbled sadly.

"It's been a long day. Why don't we turn in?" Shin announced.

Not even bothering to answer, Miwa silently walked back to his room. He stood by the bed that he and Kai shared before heading to the bathroom. Miwa came back out and climbed to the top bunk. He laid down and blinked at the ceiling, ignoring the worried stares he was getting from Aichi and Kamui. He continued to stare at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

"Why don't we split up? We'll cover more ground that way," Naoki offered his idea.

They were all standing by the entrance of the hotel. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, birds were chirping high in the trees, and kid's laughter seem to echo throughout the city. Though, it did little to lighten the situation.

"Sounds good," Miwa nodded. He was determined to find his best friend.

Everyone went to different streets, asking people if they had seen any sign of Kai. So far, no one had. They even checked out some hotels but still couldn't find him.

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

"This city is just too big!" Naoki kicked the ground in aggravation. After searching for more than half the day, they all met back in the hotel .

"There are so many places. How are we supposed to find him? Any ideas, Miwa?" Izaki asked.

Miwa shook his head. "I already tried the places that he would probably got to."

"Now, what?" Shingo asked.

"Why don't we take a break?" Shin suggested. "We may think better after that."

"We could finish our school work," Emi said.

"I think we should," Reiji agreed.

"ITWS!" Eiji abbreviated him.

They got out their papers and pencils and started. After a few hours, they finished.

"Should we start looking for him again?" Izaki asked.

Miwa nodded. "Yeah, it's getting late."

They were about to leave when rain began pouring down and lightning could be seen from the windows.

"I don't think you guys should go out there," Shin said, listening to the raging storm. "You'll get sick if you do."

"But Kai IS out there!" Miwa cried.

"I'm sorry, guys," Shin apologized.

"Oh, this is just great!" Naoki said, not meaning it at all. "It just had to storm tonight!"

Miwa plopped down on a couch, feeling helpless.

Misaki put a comforting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Miwa. If he isn't here tomorrow, we'll look first thing after breakfast."

"Okay, so let's hope he's here by morning," Izaki stated.

But when morning came, Kai still wasn't there. After breakfast, they left and began searching for Kai. They asked around if anyone had seen him, but it only drew a zero. Still, they continued untill lunch time. They stopped at a restaurant to eat.

"Where is he?" Misaki asked to no one in particular.

"It's like he disappeared," Reiji said.

"No kidding, yo," Eiji said tiredly. They were all exhausted from running around.

"If you two had kept your comments to yourself this never would have happened!" Misaki glared at Morikawa and Kamui.

"Yeah, yeah," Morikawa huffed.

A tick mark appeared on Misaki's face but she held in her anger.

"I know, alright? You don't have to remind me," Kamui said guiltily.

"Let's try to be positive," Shingo said. "It will do no good if we start fighting."

"So, now what?" Miwa asked, getting impatient. He wanted to help his friend.

"We'll just have to look harder," Kourin answered. After all, it was the only thing they could do. They finished lunch and resumed their search. But, by 10:00 p.m., they still didn't find him.

"I can't believe no one knows where he is!" Naoki threw himself on the couch, exhausted from the days work. They had searched their rooms again, but didn't find him.

"I guess we'll have to wait till tomorrow," Miwa said sadly. So far, everything they tried didn't seem to work. It started to look like a hopeless cause. The next day, it didn't look any better. Kai was no where in sight. The city was gigantic and no matter how many people they asked, no one had an answer. It seemed like Kai really had disappeared.

Another day went by, and there was still no sign of him.

"It's been five days and we still haven't seen Kai-senpai," Mai said quietly as she ate her breakfast.

"We might as well give up," Naoki lost all of his determination. "If he wants to find us, he'll come back here." He stuffed his mouth with his eggs.

"Maybe we should just give up," Shingo said, agreeing with Naoki. "It doesn't look like he wants to be found."

"But... we can't just sit here and do nothing," Kamui said, feeling more and more guilty with each passing second.

"Well, I could call the police," Shin offered his opinion.

Miwa shook his head. "That is one thing that we won't do. We could be making a big deal out of this and Kai could just be in another hotel." Miwa sounded lost.

"You think it'll make him feel worse if we call the police?" Kourin asked. "So then, we'll just continue looking for him?"

Miwa nodded. "I don't like it either, but I think it's the only way." Even as he said that, Miwa couldn't help but wonder where his best friend was.

"Kai..."

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

**End of the fourth chapter.**

**I know Kai wasn't in here this time. But trust me, there will be plenty of him in the next chapters. :) Don't forget to review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard.**


	5. Wh-who are you?

**And here it is! By the way, thanks so much for all the reviews! I didn't think I'd get many. Now without further ado...**

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Chapter 5: Wh-who are you?**

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Kai continued to cough as a hand pressed against his ribs. Why did it hurt so much? Pain was emanating from all over. Kai felt like screaming but lacked the energy. He couldn't even see properly. Everything was blurry. All Kai wanted to do was sleep.

"He needs to go to the hospital."

Kai felt his stomach lurch. He couldn't go there. There was no way he could go there. Kai started hyperventilating.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down," someone held him down by the shoulders. Kai still couldn't see properly but he knew there was someone in front of him.

"D-don't take me there," Kai gasped.

"You're badly injured. You have to-"

**"I CAN'T GO THERE!"** Kai screamed so loud his throat hurt. "I... can't," Kai wheezed, out of breath.

"Alright, you won't go there. Just breathe," someone said.

It wasn't that hard. Kai was too exhausted to do anything else. His eyes felt heavy and his chest hurt. Kai fainted.

******{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

Kai groaned as he felt something ice-cold rub against his forehead. What was it? He had felt it for hours. Kai wanted to push it away but he was too weak. And every time he tried to move, he would always get pushed back down and then hear someone speak to him, whispering words of comfort. Wait, why did he need to be comforted? For that matter, why was he so tired? Kai couldn't remember. He didn't seem to remember anything. When he woke up again, the first thing he thought was, _Who am I?_ He had to think for a while until the name rang in his head.

Toshiki Kai.

He then wondered who was caring for him. Maybe his parents. Kai tried to remember them. He wished he hadn't. Kai saw them smiling at him with dead looks on their faces. Kai began to panic.

"Easy. Everything is okay," the voice of a boy whispered soothingly, and gently ran a hand through Kai's hair. "Just calm down."

His words calmed Kai, but only a little. Kai wanted to know who he was. It was unsettling that he was at the mercy of a complete stranger. As if reading his mind, the boy introduced himself.

"It's okay. My name is Jaden," he said. "Calm down. I won't hurt you." Kai, though extremely slowly, calmed down. This 'Jaden' sounded sincere.

Kai felt a hand tilt his head up and a sour, bitter-tasting liquid filled his mouth. He didn't have the strength to protest and swallowed it, aware of how thirsty he was. His head was laid back down and the ice-cold object was rubbed against his forehead once more. Kai hissed as the cold object made contact with his burning skin. He tried to move away, but he was held down.

"Hold still. It's just a wet towel," Jaden said gently as he removed it from Kai's forehead. Kai felt droplets of water on his forehead and thought it was the towel. But, it felt hot. Kai felt it all over his body.

_Sweat, _Kai's mind slowly registered. He heard water splashing and felt the towel on his forehead. It's coldness was worse than before, making Kai shiver. Exhaustion began to eat at his body. His body begged for rest. Kai was more than happy to oblige.

The next time Kai woke up, the taste of spices and chicken were fresh in his mouth. He heard something next to him. Kai weakly turned his head. His vision didn't seem to be getting any better, but he could barely make out the form of girl. She was holding something in her hands.

"Oh, you're awake," the girl whispered. She moved the object she was holding toward Kai's lips. "It's soup. You'll need it to get better." Kai heard the girl giggle lightly before a spoon full of warm soup was placed in his mouth. He chewed on spicy chicken and a few other items that he was too tired to name. Kai felt thirsty after that.

"W-wat... " Kai tried to say, but he didn't have the voice. The girl understood him and placed a cold glass of water to his mouth. Kai drank every last drop. The girl continued to feed him soup until it was done.

"Drink this," she poured a familiar-tasting, sour liquid in Kai's mouth. After swallowing it, he felt a hand placed on his forehead. "You still have a fever," he heard the girl murmur. She picked up a towel from the desk next to her and place it on Kai's forehead. As always, it felt cold, but it didn't bother Kai as much as it did before.

"Try to get some sleep," the girl whispered. Kai didn't want to. He wanted to ask her some questions: where I'm I, who are you, and why I'm I here. But he was so tired. Once again, Kai fell asleep.

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

_Kai was standing in a room. He looked around and realized he was in a familiar place. With familiar people._

_"Hmph! Who would worry about someone like him?! The guy doesn't know the meaning of fun!" Morikawa huffed. "It's not like anyone cares!"_

_"I know, it's like the jerk never had a family!" Kamui put in. "Whatever family he has must hate him. No wonder he acts like a kid!"_

_Kai swallowed hard. Just ignore it, he told himself. He didn't mean to run away last time. Kai wanted to ignore their comments and act like nothing._

_"What's the matter, Kai?" Miwa asked snidely. "I didn't think your feelings were so fragile," he gave a mocking smirk._

_Kai's eyes widened. This didn't happen. Miwa had never said anything like this._

_"Did you guys know the reason Kai is so distant is because he's shy?" Miwa laughed. Everyone else began to laugh._

_Kai took step back. Miwa said he'd drop this. Why was he humiliating Kai in front of everyone?_

_"If you think that's funny, then you should have seen him crying the other day!" Miwa smirked, almost evilly at Kai._

_Kai gasped. He wouldn't. Miwa wouldn't. 'This isn't real!' a voice in the back of Kai's mind yelled. Still, he found himself believing it was real._

_"Really? Kai cried?" Kamui snickered. "So, what on earth could make the almighty Toshiki Kai cry?" Kamui's voice dripped with sarcasm._

_Kai looked at Miwa, mentally begging him not to tell. Miwa smirked at Kai._

_"On his birthday, Kai started crying about his dead parents!" Miwa cackled._

_"You mean he cried about people who are already dead?!" Kamui bursted out laughing._

_"That's not all! Kai fainted and cried out for his parents!" Miwa laughed mockingly. "He was like some lost little kid who wanted Mommy and Daddy back!"_

_Kai felt his heart shatter. His entire body shook and his eyes stung with tears. Kai felt betrayed. Miwa, his best friend, had just turned his back on him._

_"Someone's going to cry~," Miwa sneered. Everyone started to laugh._

_Kai couldn't take it. He fell to his knees and clamped his eyes shut as tears poured down his face. Kai covered his ears as the laughter got louder. He tried to yell for them to stop, but it came out as a whisper._

_"Stop it."_

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

Kai slowly opened his tear-filled eyes. He felt horrible. His body couldn't stop shaking and the tears wouldn't stop coming out. Kai was too tired to even have a panic attack. He felt his entire inside go cold when he remembered how Miwa had treated him.

_You're being stupid,_ he told himself, finally able to form a proper thought. _Miwa would never do that. _Kai decided to distract himself before he could change his mind. He looked down at his hands and saw there were bandages wrapped around them. Kai realized he was laying on a bed. He slowly sat up and was a little startled when a towel landed on his lap. Kai stared at it. Why was this familiar? Kai vaguely remembers seeing a fuzzy vision of someone rubbing this against his forehead. He placed the towel on the nightstand beside him and examined the room.

The walls had a comforting color, beige, and the carpet was a nice shade of green. There was a lamp sitting on the nightstand to the left of him. A cool breeze sneaked through the window to the right, making Kai's hair dance back and forth. A brown dresser leaned against the wall with a body length mirror hanging beside it. Some clothes were visible from an open closet next to it. A door stood across from Kai's bed, intriguing him as to what was outside.

Kai threw his feet off the bed and shakily stood up. He nearly fell back on it when pain course through his body and his legs felt numb. Kai couldn't tell where he was feeling it, so he stumbled up to the mirror and looked at his reflection.

He looked awful. Kai's eyes were red from crying and his face was a little too pale. His hair had, no doubt, been mused from sleep, and he had dark bags under his eyes. There was a big, bluish-purplish bruise on one cheek and a bandage on the other. A bandage was wrapped around his forehead and another around his neck.

"W-what happened t-to me?" Kai asked himself and grimaced at how weak and exhausted his voice sounded. He ignored his exhaustion and checked if he had any more injuries.

Kai noticed the shirt that he was wearing wasn't his. It was a simple long-sleeved, orange shirt that was a bit big for Kai, but he didn't mind. Kai rolled up the sleeves and saw that his arms were covered in bandages. Pain was coming from his right arm, so he tried not to move it too much.

Kai gently pulled his sleeves down and inspected his legs. He saw that the left pant leg was rolled up, showing his bandaged leg. Kai looked at his other leg which was wrapped in bandages as well. After looking at his arms and his legs Kai realized something. He was too skinny. Even though he likes to cook, Kai was never one to eat that much, resulting in him being lower than average weight. Still, it was never a problem. Now, however, Kai was dangerously skinny. He felt pain coming from his chest.

"I need to calm down," he mumbled. Remembering he needed to find out where he was, Kai walked towards the door and opened it. He stepped out of the room and looked around. There was a door to the left of him, a door to the right of him and a door across from him. What caught Kai's eye was the staircase.

"I guess I should go downstairs," Kai whispered. He wasn't sure who brought him here, but he wasn't taking any chances. Deciding to move on, Kai walked down the hall. He reached the stairs and stepped-

"We can't do that!"

Kai froze. He slowly turned to the left where the voice had come from. Kai quietly crept to the door and found it was slightly ajar. He peaked inside and saw three people. A man, a boy that looked older than Kai, and a girl around Kai's age.

"Shhh! You may wake him," the man said to the girl in a quieter voice.

"Sorry," the girl said, lowering her voice. "But he's exhausted! He couldn't even speak!"

Kai frowned. Were they talking about him? Kai started to get a feeling that maybe he should just leave, but curiosity won over.

"I know, but he'll get even worse if he stays in bed," the man said. "He needs to eat some proper food."

"Jade," the boy finally spoke, "what are you doing with that necklace?"

_Necklace?_ Kai thought. He tried to get a better look at what the girl was holding.

"I was going to give it back," the girl, Jade, held up a necklace with a diamond. A red diamond.

Kai's eyes widened. His heart pounded as he slowly moved his hand up to his neck. Nothing. Kai let out a gasp and fell back when the door shot open.

"You shouldn't be up," the boy bent down to Kai. The man and Jade were standing by the door.

Kai had so many questions, but he didn't ask any them. Ignoring the pain coming from his right arm and left leg, he tried to speak.

"...M-my necklace," Kai gasped out. The pain in his chest was different. It hurt so much more than it had ever, but Kai didn't care. Kai only wanted his necklace. No, he _needed_ his necklace. It was given to him by his mom. It was his only way of being connected to his parents. He _needed_ it.

"Let's get you back in bed," the boy reached out a hand to help him but Kai weakly brushed it aside. He gripped the boy's sweater with strength he didn't know he had.

"N-necklace," Kai couldn't even form a complete sentence. He looked at the boy with desperate eyes.

"You shouldn't be-"

"PLEASE!" Kai screamed desperately. The pain in his chest grew. He turned his head away from the boy and coughed out blood. His grip on the boy's shirt loosened and Kai was about to fall to the ground when the boy caught him. Kai's breath started changing into gasps. Blood trickled down his chin.

"Jade," the man spoke, "go get his necklace."

Jade quickly ran into the room and came back out holding Kai's necklace. She gave it to the boy.

"Hey, everything's okay," the boy gently whispered. He took Kai's hand and placed his necklace on it. "It's alright. Nothing's going to happen."

Kai moved his necklace closer to his chest. His gasps started to diminish. Kai's body desperately wanted sleep after that but he tried to fight it.

The man walked over to Kai and the boy and bent down. "Jaden, give him to me."

Kai tried to move out of Jaden's grasp but he didn't have the energy. Jaden smiled at him. "It's alright. We just need to get you back in bed."

Before Kai could do anything else, he felt a hand under his legs and a hand behind his back lift him up. Kai turned his head to the man.

"You're pretty light for your age," the man grinned as he carried Kai back to his room. Kai could only blink at him. "Just relax and get some sleep," the man said as he gently ruffled Kai's hair. "You're safe with us, kid."

That was the last thing Kai heard before he went limp in the man's arms. The man smiled. He took Kai's necklace and placed it around the brunet's neck. He reached Kai's room and gently laid the boy on the bed. The man took a seat next to him.

"Is he okay, Uncle Zack?" Jaden asked stepping into the room. Jade followed after him.

"Well, his fever died down," Zack felt Kai's forehead.

"That's good," Jade stated, looking at Kai. "I didn't think he'd freak out about his necklace."

"It's probably special," Jaden murmured.

"We're going to wake him up in an hour," Zack announced. "Jaden. Jade. I'm going to need a few things."

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

**So what did you think? I was thinking of making Kai lose his memory but decided against it. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard.**


	6. Bruises and cuts

**I apologize for the delay. I've had to change a few things in my story. Plus, I've been thinking about some other stories. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Chapter 6: Bruises and cuts**

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"You there, kid?"

Kai stirred, but didn't wake up.

"Wakey, wakey!"

Kai finally opened his eyes. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Haha! Up and at 'em, kid!" Zack grinned at Kai. Kai slowly pushed off Zack's hand and inched away from him.

"Kid?"

"Do... do I know y-you?" Kai asked hesitantly. Who was this guy? He looked... familiar.

"You mean you don't remember me? Honestly, kid, that hurts me to the core!" Zack said dramatically, placing a hand on his heart.

"S-sorry." At first, Kai was scared of the man, but now, he didn't seem that bad.

The man startled Kai by patting his head. "No need to apologize, kid. You were a bit out of it back there, so it's only natural."

Kai was taken back by how the man continued to address him as 'kid'. He then remembered.

_"You're pretty light for your age," a man grinned, holding Kai in his arms. Kai could only blink at him. "Just relax and get some sleep," the man said as he gently ruffled Kai's hair. "You're safe with us, kid."_

"O-oh, you're... " Kai trailed off. He remembered the man, but he never found out his name.

The man straitened up and flicked one of his black locks. "The name is Josh Onyx. Remember it well," he said putting on a serious face and an equally serious voice.

Kai was still disoriented from sleep and didn't know how to react.

"Uncle, stop messing with him."

Kai looked to the left of 'Josh' and saw a boy and a girl standing next to him. Much like their uncle, they both looked familiar. This time, Kai remembered all of it. His hand immediately went to his neck. Kai breathed a sigh of relief. He had his necklace.

"How are you feeling?" Jade walked up to Kai with a light smile.

"U-um... I-I... " Kai wasn't sure how to answer that. He didn't even notice how tired he was until she asked. And for the life of him he couldn't stop stuttering!

"I know, silly question," Jade a gave a sheepish grin. "Just so you know, my uncle's name is actually Zack." Jade tilted her head towards her uncle.

"Oh, c'mon!" Zack exclaimed. "How come I'm the only one without a J?" he pretended to be annoyed.

Jade giggled. "Don't mind my uncle. He just likes to mess with you."

Kai just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He saw Jaden walk up to him.

"Is there anything you need?" he asked gently.

"...W-well..." a faint blush appeared on Kai's face. He felt embarrassed to say it.

"There's no need to be embarrassed," Jaden said in that same gentle voice. "What do you need?"

"Um, is... is there a restroom here?" Kai mumbled.

Zack laughed. "Was that it? There's nothing wrong with it. You've been out for almost four days. Well, if you count today."

"FOUR DAYS?!" Kai's eyes widened. He knew he had been asleep for a while with all his injuries, but he didn't think it was four days.

Zack covered his ears. "Sheesh! For someone who can't stop stuttering, you sure know how to scream, kid!" he grinned.

Kai blinked before looking down, embarrassed. "Uh, s-sorry." After his parents died, Kai stopped socializing and had never been good at talking to adults since then. He felt awkward around them. Occasionally, he'd have this problem with people his age. He just wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.

Zack chuckled. "You're shy one, aren't you, kid?" Kai blushed and looked away.

"Uncle," Jade gave him a look.

"Oh, I forgot!" Zack smiled sheepishly before turning to Kai. "Why don't you take a shower and then we can patch up your wounds."

Jaden handed some clothes to Kai who hesitantly took them. "Um, thank you."

Jaden smiled. "Can you stand?"

"I-I think," Kai pushed himself off the bed and staggered. Jaden caught him by the arm.

"Easy," Jaden placed Kai's arm around his neck and his hand around Kai's waist. He helped Kai walk out of the room and stopped in front of the door to the left of the room. Kai moved his arm off of Jaden's neck.

"I-I can s-stand," Kai stuttered and proved it when Jaden let go of him.

"We'll be waiting out here," Jaden told him.

Kai nodded and stepped in the bathroom. After using the bathroom, he placed his necklace by the sink and stripped himself of his clothes. He was a surprised when he saw bandages wrapped around his torso. Kai sighed and started to take off the bandages.

Once he was done, Kai looked over his wounds. His right arm and his left leg had a deep cut. Kai's other arm and other leg was covered in small cuts and bruises as was the rest of his body. His skin had some scrapes here and there. He felt a bump on the back of his head, a deep cut on the back of his neck, and a deep cut on his left cheek. But what was really eye-catching was his chest and ribs. There was a huge bruise practically covering his entire chest. A long cut was marked across it, giving it an even worse look. His ribs were colors that varied among blue, purple, yellow, and red. It hurt when he touched it.

Kai decided to ignore all of it and stepped in the shower. He was barely able to suppress a shriek when the water splashed on his wounds. His entire body burned, especially his back. Kai placed a hand on his back and felt a huge gash across it. With all these injuries, Kai was surprised he was even able to stand.

Once Kai was done showering, he got dressed. Kai was about to put on a shirt when he felt blood coming out from the wound on his back. Kai couldn't get the blood to stop.

"Great," Kai muttered. He wasn't comfortable doing this but there was no other way. Kai stepped out of the bathroom and walked back into the room, shirtless.

Jaden and Jade gasped when they saw Kai's bruised body. Zack just looked at him grimly.

Kai felt embarrassed with everyone staring at him. "Um, my back wouldn't stop bleeding," Kai mumbled, looking at the ground.

Zack nodded. "Let's take a look at it," he motioned for Kai to come to him.

Kai walked over to Josh and saw a red sheet on the ground. Along with two basins filled with water, some paper towels, bandages and a bottle of medicine. Josh told Kai to lay down on his stomach so he could look at his back. Kai laid down, placing his necklace and shirt to the side. He heard Jade scream.

"What is it?" Kai stiffened when he felt a hand on his wound.

"Listen, we're going to clean out all your wounds, so bear with us," Zack told Kai, ignoring his question. Kai nodded. "Alright, Jaden, Jade?"

Jaden walked over to Kai with Jade behind him, her hand over her mouth in horror at the sight of Kai's gruesome body. Zack sat to the right of Kai, letting Jaden take his place. Jaden took a towel and dipped it in the basin and Jade did the same. Kai felt Josh hold him down by the shoulders.

"This may hurt," he said. Kai felt an intense pain from his back and right arm. He gritted his teeth and jerked his back away only to have it held down by Zack.

"Relax. It'll go faster if there's more than one person cleaning your wounds," Zack said to him. Kai felt Jade hold down his arm and began to wash his open wound.

"I'll try to make this quick," Kai heard Jaden murmur before he felt wet the towel rub against the gash on his back. Kai snapped his eyes shut as he felt the pain increase. Jaden applied some medicine on the wet towel and rubbed it on Kai's back. Jade did the same for his arm. Kai couldn't take it anymore. He screamed.

Jaden immediately stopped and looked at his uncle, concern obvious on his face. Jade covered her ears until Kai stopped screaming.

Zack took a shaky breath. "It'll all be over soon," he whispered to the gasping boy. Kai felt Jade clutch his hand in her own.

"He's right. Just a little longer and then we'll move on to the next wound," she whispered to him soothingly.

Zack placed his hands back on Kai's shoulders and nodded to Jaden. Jaden took a deep breath and continued to clean Kai's wound. Jade, still clutching Kai's hand, proceeded to clean Kai's arm. Kai tried to hold it in but he couldn't. He yelled out in pain. Jaden didn't stop this time. Jade stopped for a moment before she finished cleaning his wound and gently bandaged his arm.

"Done," Jaden said, also finished.

Zack nodded. _Here comes the hard part. _"Kid, you're going to have to sit up." He lifted Kai up by his arm and pulled him into a sitting position.

"Huh?" was all Kai could get out.

"This is the only way for me to clean this cut on your chest without opening the wound on your back," Jaden spoke in a gentle voice.

Kai managed to nod. He turned his head when he felt a hand on his neck.

"Sorry," Jade said softly. "I'm just going to wash out this cut on your neck." She began to wash the wound on his neck. It didn't hurt that much until she added the medicine. Kai hissed. Jade gave his hand a little squeeze and whispered that everything will be okay.

Jaden added the medicine and started to clean the long cut on Kai's chest. Kai screamed and was held down by Zack to prevent him from moving away. Jaden finished his work and bandaged up Kai's torso. Jade also finished and bandaged his neck. She then wrapped a bandage around his head.

"Just a little longer," Jaden whispered to Kai who was panting as sweat rolled down his face. He felt pain coming from his ribs.

Jaden dipped the towel in the basin and scrubbed it against the gash on Kai's leg. Kai groaned, too exhausted to scream anymore.

Jade felt tears sting her eyes, but she blinked them away. She wouldn't be any help if she was crying. After looking at Kai's hands and other arm, she was relieved that there wasn't anything serious and patched them up. She did the same with his leg and waited for Jaden to finish. Once Jaden finished, they all sighed with relief.

Zack picked up a wet towel and gave it to Kai. Kai took it and rubbed his face with it, waking himself up a bit. He handed it back to Zack who put it to the side. Jaden then gave Kai his necklace and a black sweater. Kai put them on and winced when he moved his arm.

"Hey, kid?" Zack patted Kai's shoulder. "We're going downstairs for dinner." As if on cue, Kai's stomach growled.

Jade covered her mouth, but wasn't able to suppress a giggle. Jaden smiled at Kai and Zack chuckled. Kai could only move his hand over his stomach.

"Alrighty!" Zack stood up and stretched. "Let's all agree to never do that again," he joked, though Kai found himself nodding his head. He never wanted to do that again.

Kai felt eyes on him. He saw Jaden giving him an understanding smile before picking up the basins and leaving the room. Jade squeezed Kai's hand, also giving him a smile. Although, it wasn't the same. Kai wasn't sure if he was imagining this, but it looked like she was about to cry. He didn't have time to think about it because she let go of his hand, picked up the towels, and left the room.

"Get on my back," Zack said and bent down. Kai weakly wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and let himself get picked up. Kai tried not to look down as Zack carried him down the stairs. Kai was exhausted. His eyes slowly started to close.

"Unh!" A shaking startled Kai up.

"Not yet," Zack said. "After you eat you can go back to sleep."

Kai managed to nod. Once they were downstairs, Zack walked to a table and set Kai down. Kai sat on a chair and saw Jade already seated in front of him. Jaden came out from another room, which Kai guessed was the kitchen, and placed a plate with rice and curry in front of Kai.

"Eat up," Jaden smiled. He took a seat beside Jade and started to eat.

"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice!" Zack sat next to Kai and began to stuff his face with food.

Kai was a little perplexed by the way he acted but started eating. They continued to eat in silence. Kai was about to nod off when Zack banged his hands on the table, making Kai jump. Jade and Jaden didn't seem affected.

"By Jove! We never properly introduced ourselves!" Zack exclaimed.

_By... Jove?_ Kai thought tiredly.

"Okay, then!" Zack clapped his hands together. "My name is Zack Onyx."

Jade shrugged her shoulders. She seemed used to the way her uncle acted. "I'm Jade Onyx."

"Jaden Onyx," Jaden said, taking a bite of his food. "We're siblings."

Kai guessed that they were, now that he was able to get a better look at them. Jaden had short, dark green hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a black sweater with a _J_ written in light green on the right pocket and a black belt around his dark blue pants. Jade's hair was a lighter shade of green than her brothers and went past her shoulders. She had light caramel eyes. She was wearing a red shirt with a pink jacket over it. Burgundy pants and a skirt that went right above her knees, matching her jacket.

"What's your name?" Jaden asked Kai, pulling him away from his thoughts.

"Uh, Toshiki Kai."

"Nice to meet you, Toshiki," Jade smiled at him. Kai couldn't hold back his surprise.

"Is something wrong?" Jaden asked.

"N-no, uh..." Kai wasn't sure how to explain it. No one ever called him 'Toshiki', except his parents. It sounded foreign to him. "It's just that, no one calls me that."

"Then what should we call you?" Zack asked.

"Kai is fine," he answered.

"But, that's your last name," Jade stated with a confused frown.

"I know, but it's fine," Kai said. He remember an old friend from school, Naki, one day called him that. People eventually started calling him that as well.

"I like Toshiki," Jade grinned.

"But-"

"It's your name and it's what I'm going to call you."

"Same with me," Jaden added, leaving no room for Kai to protest.

"Iwll sthish wif kwith," Zack said with a mouth full of food. After seeing the confused looks of everyone, he swallowed his food and repeated, "I said I'll stick with kid." He patted Kai's shoulder. "That okay with you, kid?"

"...Ah." Kai might as well agree. It didn't look like Zack would call him by his name anyway. A thought suddenly crossed Kai's mind. Why was he here? If he was this injured, why wasn't he in a - Kai gulped - hospital? Kai hated hospitals. The mere thought of it made the food in his stomach churn but he was curious.

"S-so, um..." Kai wasn't sure if he should ask. He didn't want to go to a hospital, anyway.

"We're listening," Jaden beckoned with knowing eyes. He reminded Kai of himself. Quiet, but nicer. It was almost like he could see right through Kai, which is something no one has ever done other than his parents. Kai took a deep breath. _Okay, here it goes._

"Why am I here?"

Everyone stopped eating. They all carried shocked and confused faces. Jade was the first one to speak.

"Don't you remember?" she asked hesitantly.

Kai blinked. "Remember what?"

Zack sighed. "When I found out just how bad your injuries were, I said that we were taking you to the hospital."

Kai nodded, feeling anxiety enter him. He didn't go to a hospital, right?

Zack continued. "You didn't exactly want to. But now that you're in a better shape of mind, maybe-"

"Forget I asked!" Kai sputtered, his heart racing. _Why did I bring this up?!_ Kai would have banged his head on something if he could.

"I'm sorry, but you're not in any position to argue," Zack frowned.

_No. No, no, no, no! _Kai's eyes went wide, his legs shaking. At this point, Kai was going to freak!

"Uncle, he's fine."

Kai's head shot up and turned to Jaden. Was he helping him?

"Jaden, you know how injured he is," Zack said.

"He's alive, isn't he?" Jaden shrugged nonchalantly. "If he can walk, there's really nothing to worry about. He'll get better."

"Alright, I know when I'm beat," Zack raised up his hands in defeat. He turned to Kai. "Are you s-"

"Yes!"

"Haha, guess that was obvious," Zack chuckled.

Kai felt like a weight had been removed from his shoulders. He gave Jaden a grateful look. Jaden in turn, smiled.

"So, how old are you?" Zack asked, pushing aside his finished plate.

"Sixteen."

"I'm turning seventeen," Jade said.

"I'm eighteen," Jaden stated.

"So you're sixteen, eh? You're different," Zack told him.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked.

"My intuition tells me you're a special," Zack laughed.

Kai looked at him, confused. "A... special?"

"Don't worry. He calls me a jewel," Jade rolled her eyes.

"People can be a special!" Zack insisted.

"Does that include Alice-san?" Jaden asked, amusement clear in his voice.

Zack got this dreamy look in his eyes. "Oh, no. She's a beauty."

Jade giggled.

Zack eyes turned back to normal as he realized something. "Ha! See! You can call things a beauty, so why can't people be a special? Am I right, kid?" he grinned at Kai.

"Uh, I'm not really anyone special," Kai said. _Just a nobody,_ he thought bitterly, remembering a few _unwanted_ words.

Jaden noticed Kai's sullen mood. "Do you live around here, Toshiki?" he asked, changing the subject.

"It's Kai and no, I..." Kai stopped speaking when he remembered everything. Kamui saying he was a nobody. Him running away. Him bumping into... into what? Kai didn't remember. A hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts.

"You alright, kid? You look a little pale," Zack's voice was filled with concern. His nephew and niece stopped eating and looked at Kai with concern as well.

"I-I'm f-fine." Kai moved his hand up to his necklace and toyed with the diamond. He wanted to forget what Kamui had said to him and distracted himself by trying to remember what he had bumped into. But he couldn't remember.

"How did I get hurt?" Kai decided to ask them.

Zack was surprised by the question. A shadow went over Jade's face as she bit her quivering lip. Jaden was the one that spoke.

"You must be tired," he stood up from his chair. "Why don't we get you upstairs so you can rest?" It sounded more like an order than a question. Kai realized this was something they didn't want to talk about.

"O-oh, could you help him with that, Jaden?" Zack stuttered, as if catching on to a hidden meaning. Jaden nodded.

Kai stood up from his chair and was pleased to see that he could stand. He followed Jaden upstairs and held on to the railing, just incase. Jaden led him back in the room and made Kai lay down on the bed. Jaden opened the top drawer of the nightstand.

"These are yours," he said, handing Kai his wallet and his phone. He opened the door and was about to leave.

"Thanks for helping me, Jaden-san," Kai said. Even he had manners to uphold. Jaden _was_ two years older than him.

Jaden turned around and looked like he wanted to say something. But after a moment, he just said,

"Get some sleep." Jaden left, closing the door behind him.

"That wasn't what he wanted to say," Kai murmured. He turned his attention to his wallet. Kai quickly opened it and pulled out a picture. It was him and his parents, laughing with each other. Kai stared at the photo, remembering all those good times he had spent with them.

After a moment, he put it back in his wallet and looked at his phone. No calls. No messages. Kai didn't know why he even looked. _It's not like I wanted to speak to anyone,_ he thought. Still, for some reason, Kai had hoped that Miwa would call him. He missed best friend. Kai placed his wallet and phone on the nightstand and pulled the blanket over him.

Kai felt a little hesitant to sleep after the dream he had but ignored it. He knew Miwa would never betray him. _Then, why hasn't he called me?_ Kai thought before falling asleep, completely exhausted.

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

**You know I was thinking of making Zack, Josh. But then I thought Jaden, Jade, and Josh? It didn't sound good. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard.**


	7. Introducing: New people, new problem

**Sorry for the delay! One word: School. It may take longer than usual for me to update now. I'll try to speed it up though.**

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Chapter 7: Introducing: New people, new problem**

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Miwa usually never worries when his best friend just disappears. Eventually, he always comes back. But this time, he didn't. Ever since Kai ran away, Miwa started to get a feeling of anxiety that just wouldn't leave. At first, he thought it was nothing, but after a while, he started to believe that something was wrong. He's been gone for seven days. This was the eighth. What if this time, Kai ran away for good?

"Are you coming for breakfast, Miwa-senpai?" Kamui called him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Sure," Miwa sighed. He climbed down from his bed and followed Kamui into the living room where everyone else was. Miwa saw Kourin and Aichi walking holding hands, blushes on their faces. Normally Miwa would have jumped at the chance to tease them. Instead, Miwa plopped down on a chair and quietly ate his food. The blond's usual grin was replaced with a sad frown. Everyone else felt the same way. They never thought they'd actually miss Kai. Somehow, it felt quiet now that he wasn't here, even though he was never one to talk. They all ate in silence.

After Miwa was done, he stood up from his chair and left, without even glancing at the others. Everyone exchanged worried looks.

"I've never seen Miwa-kun so sad," Aichi mumbled.

"I've never seen him sad at all!" Reiji claimed.

"INSHSAA," Eiji abbreviated his friend without his usual enthusiasm.

"Well, they are best friends," Kourin pointed out.

"I wonder if Kai-senpai feels the same way," Mai mused.

"If he did, he would've come back here," Naoki muttered.

"Don't blame Kai-senpai!" Emi chided him.

"I can't help it!" Naoki yelled. "We were supposed to relax and have some fun!"

"Ishida! We can't just leave Kai!" Misaki exclaimed. "You heard his past! It wasn't even his fault!"

"Fine! So it isn't Kai's fault! But it is Kamui's fault!" Naoki shouted, pointing a finger at Kamui.

"Why is everyone blaming me?!" Kamui demanded angrily. "Lose-umi also said stuff too, you know!"

"So, what?" Morikawa huffed. "The guy is probably just kicking back and having the time of his life!"

"MORIKAWA!"

"You are both responsible for what happened!" Misaki glared at them.

"Alright! I'm sorry, okay?!" Kamui yelled.

"You should be apologizing to Miwa and Kai!" Kourin yelled.

Everyone began to yell at each other. Their voices got so loud that Shin came into the room to see what was going on.

"What's going on?!" Shin had to raise his voice so he could be heard. Emi, Mai, and Aichi were the only one's who weren't yelling.

"It's a long story!" Emi shouted over the quarreling teens.

"Everyone! Please stop yelling!" Shin pleaded.

"Ishida was the one who started it!" Kamui accused the red-head.

"Whaddaya' say, Squirt?!" Naoki yelled. "We wouldn't be fighting if-"

"I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!"

Everyone stopped speaking when they heard Miwa's voice. They ran to his room and found him digging through Kai's bags. After emptying one, he went straight for the other.

"Um, Miwa-kun? What are you doing?" Aichi asked. Had Miwa gone mad?

"I know how to find Kai!" Miwa yelled.

"How, Miwa?" Misaki asked, worried for him.

"The answer was here all along!" Miwa reached into his pocket and whipped out his phone.

"I can call him!"

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

"Uncle? Is there a reason why you've been staring at the mirror for the past half hour?" Jaden asked. He was helping his sister cook breakfast, but stopped when he saw that his uncle was in the living room, staring in a mirror with a far-away look.

"Alice," Zack said as he got this dreamy look in his eyes.

"Is she coming over?!" Jade asked with excitement, peeking into the living room.

"Tomorrow for dinner!" Zack announced.

"Uncle, you-"

"Hey."

They turned to Kai who was standing by the entrance of the living room.

"Good morning to you too, kid!" Zack grinned at him.

"How are you feeling, Toshiki?" Jaden asked Kai.

Kai took a moment to answer. He was still getting used to being called that. "I'm feeling better. Actually, I was thinking maybe it's time I left," Kai informed them.

"But you haven't eaten breakfast!" Zack exclaimed.

"I have money. I can-"

"Absolutely not!" Zack said, walking up to Kai. "You're going to eat breakfast and then Jade is going to give you a tour of the city! And THEN, you're coming straight back here and you're going to stay here until I say you're better!"

"O-okay," Kai sweatdropped. _I should have seen this coming,_ he sighed inwardly.

"Good," Zack smiled. "Now, Jaden? How about you give him some clothes and then we can all eat?" Jaden nodded.

Kai and he walked back upstairs in silence. Jaden decided to speak.

"So, what do you think of my uncle?" he wondered.

"He's..." Kai wasn't sure what word would describe him. "...Different."

Jaden chuckled. "Nice choice of words." He walked into the room to the right of Kai's.

Kai looked around the room. There was a bunk bed to the left of the room by a window. The top bunk had green sheets and the bottom one had red sheets. A lamp sat on a nightstand beside the bed.

Kai noticed that everything else was black and white. There was a black dresser and a black armoire on one side of the room. A white dresser and white armoire stood on the opposite side. There was a black desk and a chair and a white desk and a chair. Kai spotted a bathroom to the far right the room.

"Here," Jaden came up to Kai with clothes, a toothbrush, and a comb.

Kai took them with a thank you. "Is this your room?"

"I share it with my sister," Jaden replied. They both walked out of the room.

"Come for breakfast when you're done, Toshiki," Jaden said.

"Kai."

Jaden just smiled and walked downstairs.

Kai went to the bathroom. He changed, brushed his teeth and combed his hair. Once Kai was done, he stepped down the stairs. Kai had to grip the railing when a sudden dizziness hit him. Everything started to blur.

"Tch." Kai couldn't make out anything in front of him. He didn't know why his head was banging. He closed his eyes and took a deap breath. Kai slowly opened his eyes, his vision back to normal. Although, he still felt pain in his head.

"Another thing to worry about," Kai sighed as he ran a hand through his messy brown mane. He didn't even know how he got all these injuries. Kai walked downstairs and took his seat by the table.

"Here you go!" Jade gave him a glass of milk and a plate with eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns.

"Thanks," Kai sighed unconsciously.

"Didn't get enough sleep, kid?" Zack took a seat next to him. Jaden sat across from him.

"I slept fine," Kai answered casually. It seemed that he was getting used to being here.

"Then what's wrong?" Jaden asked him.

Kai was a little surprised that they could read him so well. He was also surprised how natural they acted around a complete stranger. But there was something wrong. Kai knew it. That time he asked what happened to him, everyone tried to avoid the question. Kai wanted answers, but he didn't want to bother them either.

"It's nothing," Kai mumbled, taking a bite of his food.

Zack and Jade exchanged puzzled looks. Jaden just closed his eyes and ate his food.

"Where are you from?" Zack chose to break the silence.

"Hitsue City," Kai said.

"Well, then!" Zack threw his arms wide open. "Welcome to Fant. City!"

"Uh..."

"Short for Fantasy," Jaden said, eyes closed.

"Are you here by yourself?" Jade asked.

Kai sighed again. "No, I'm here with some frie-" he stopped mid-sentence. "Some people," Kai changed his words. _Not all of them are really my friends,_ he reminded himself.

Jaden glanced at Kai from the side of his eyes, but didn't say anything.

Zack acted like he didn't notice. "Do you want to let them know where you're staying?"

"No!" Kai was quick to give his answer. "I-I mean, they won't mind."

Zack frowned. "Are you sure?"

Kai nodded, a little too quickly in Zack's opinion. Once they finished eating, Zack and Jaden stood up.

"We have to go to work, so enjoy yourselves!" Zack said, and left the house.

"Bye, big brother," Jade said.

"Bye, Jade. See you, Toshiki," Jaden left, leaving Kai and Jade alone.

"Kai," the emerald-eyed boy mumbled.

"I just need to wash these dishes and then I'll show you around," Jade picked up her plate and stood up.

"I can help," Kai stood up, grabbing his plate and glass. They finished washing the dishes and left the house.

"This street is called Cozy Drive," Jade told Kai. "It's the most relaxing place in the city. It may also be called that because the prices are low on everything here," she laughed.

"So, you like it here?" Kai asked her, scanning the street.

"Mm-hm. C'mon! They have some really nice places I want to show you!" Jade grabbed Kai's hand and pulled him along.

Kai blushed at the action. It wasn't that he _liked_ her, it was just that he's never touched a girl before.

"Okay, this is Collector's Trading Shack," Jade stopped in front of a dark blue and lime green shop. "People trade things that are not found here and then sell it. You can find a lot of cool stuff here."

"Maybe I'll check it out," Kai looked at the shop. He felt a tug on his arm.

"Later! You still haven't seen everything!" Jade once again pulled him along.

She showed him all kind of places. There was Kaylee's Hardware. Bread 'n' Bake. Jack's Sweats. Cozy Mall. Snack Track. Flier's Candy Bar. Comfy Cabin. Fant. Zoo.

"So, Getaway Park is on... Greenery Avenue?" Kai asked after a moment. He had a good memory, but there were so many places and streets, he had a hard time grasping everything.

Jade nodded. "The Cozy Mall is next."

On their way to the mall, Kai spotted four girls cheerfully talking to each other. Jade ran over to them.

"We didn't think you'd be here!" one of the girls exclaimed. She then noticed Kai. "Hey, Jade-san?" she whispered. "Who's that guy over there?"

"He's cute!" another one whispered.

"He's covered in bandages, Charlotte." An orange haired girl shook her head.

"He's still cute!" Charlotte insisted. "Don't you think, Madison?"

"I agree," Madison smiled.

"Hey, Toshiki! Come over and meet my friends!" Jade called Kai.

Kai felt out of place with all these girls but he walked over.

"Toshiki, this is Rachel Gibbons," Jade gestured to the girl with short orange hair, and brown eyes. She wore a red T-shirt with a yellow top over it. Her dark brown pants had an orange flower by the pocket.

"Hey," Rachel said simply. She seemed suspicious of Kai with the way she kept her eyes on him, like a hawk.

"Lilly Frost."

"Hellooo, Toshiiiiiki-chaaan!" the girl with turquoise hair dragged out his name. Her eyes were slightly darker than her hair. She was in a light blue shirt with a white T-shirt on top and pink pants. A small blue bracelet dangled on her left wrist.

"Madison Skylar."

"How's it going?" the bluenette with black eyes smiled at Kai. She wore a dark blue hoodie that matched her hair, black pants, and black Tennis shoes. A silver pendent hung around her neck.

"And Charlotte Gates."

"Hi~," the girl with lime hair and purple eyes said dreamily. She wore a light pink top with a white flower pattern around the collar. Simple green shorts that reached her knees. A light green necklace and and green earings completed her look.

_Oh, no._ Kai knew that look. "Um, it's nice to meet you."

"It's VERY nice to meet you!" Charlotte walked closer to him. Too close.

"That's enough, Charlotte," Jade told the girl. She could tell Kai was uncomfortable.

"I didn't do anything!" Charlotte said but she backed away.

Kai inwardly sighed with relief. _How do I get myself into these situations?_ he thought. Kai felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down.

"Pretty," Lilly smiled cutely and pointed at Kai's eyes.

Kai was dumbfounded by the girl's statement. She seemed to be younger than the other girls. Kai guessed she was about twelve or thirteen, though her actions made her seem far younger.

"You must be pretty special if you got Lilly to like you already," Madison laughed.

Kai kept quiet. He wasn't very found of being called special when he knew he wasn't.

Jade patted Kai's shoulder with a smile. "We were heading to Cozy Mall," she informed the girls.

"What a coincidence!" Charlotte exclaimed. "WE are also going there!" she smiled dreamily at Kai, who in turn blushed.

"You guys can tag along," Jade shrugged. "Just don't do anything unnecessary," she glared at the lime-head. Jade grabbed Kai's hand and pulled him next to her for good measure.

"Thanks," Kai murmured quietly as they entered the mall. He understood Jade was just looking out for him. He was grateful for her help, albeit confused how she was treating him. Kai couldn't quite place it.

Jade just smiled and ruffled his hair. Kai was taken back by her action. Despite being treated differently than he had ever, Kai didn't mind it. It reminded him of his parents. How affectionate and loving they had treated him.

"Oh, look at the dresses!" Charlotte squealed, pulling Kai away from his thoughts.

"You have more than enough," Rachel said.

"You can NEVER have too many dresses!" Charlotte said adamantly.

Kai watched the girl argue with Charlotte in amusement. Rachel glared at the brunet, making him shift his attention to something else. Her coldness didn't bother him but he didn't want to deal with another fight.

The girls bought some clothes and jewelry. Kai didn't mind the things he had and didn't want anything. He was lucky his parents will left him with all their money. Kai knew he would need a job soon and already had one in mind.

"Did you see anything you like?" Madison asked him, holding a some clothes.

"I really don't want anything," Kai said.

"Where's the fun in that?" Jade said. Realizing that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, Kai bought dark blue jeans, a sleeveless black shirt, and a red scarf.

"Toshiki-chan! Toshiki-chan!" Lilly jumped excitedly. "Should I get it?" she held up a stuffed black panda with a yellow scarf wrapped around its neck.

"You're too old for toys, Lilly," Rachel said.

"Am not!" Lilly said childishly. "And I wasn't asking you!" she puffed her cheeks with a frown.

"Your parents won't even allow you to buy that expensive toy," Rachel said and glared daggers at Kai. Kai sighed. As usual, he somehow made people hate him. It wasn't a surprise.

"Rachel-san is right, Lilly-chan," Madison said gently. Lilly pouted sadly. She reluctantly put the panda back on the rack and walked next to Kai, looking down. Kai stared at the girl for a second. She seemed to really want a toy. The girls decided they bought enough and went to pay for it.

"I'll catch up," Kai said, looking at the rack filled with toys. His eyes landed on a stuffed grey cat with a light blue bow and green eyes. Kai picked it up and hurried back to the girls, who exchanged confused looks when he bought the toy.

"Toshiki-chan?" Lilly called him as they left the mall. "Who's that for?"

"Do you like it?" Kai handed it to her.

Lilly slowly took it and stared at him, surprised. All the other girls did the same.

Kai rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. He was surprised himself. He normally wouldn't do stuff like this. It was out of character.

"Toshiki-chan..." Lilly sounded confused. Before anyone could do anything, Lilly jumped on Kai, hugging him. "Toshi-Onii-chan!" she squealed.

Kai grunted, surprised. _W-what did she just call me?_ He could only stare at the girl who had wrapped her hands around him and continued to smile at him with big eyes. The other girls were also surprised by their friend's action but quickly recovered.

"That was so sweet, Toshiki-kun," Madison smiled at him.

"Uh, it was nothing," Kai said uncomfortably. Lilly still hadn't let go of him and people began to stare.

"I thought it _was_ sweet," Jade grinned.

"Totally," Rachel smiled at him for the first time.

_How does she do it?!_ Charlotte shook her head in wonder.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," Kai mumbled and gently pried Lilly off of him. "So, where are we going?" he asked, slightly edging away from the all-too smiling Lilly, who was hugging her new stuffed toy.

Jade smiled. "Let's take a break. Are you hungry, Toshiki?"

"Not really."

"You haven't eaten a proper meal in a while," Jade frowned. "You're eating."

Madison laughed. "Stop mothering him!"

"I am NOT mothering him!" Jade denied. "Right, **Toshiki**?"

Her icy tone and furious eyes didn't give Kai room to argue. But he had to admit, Jade's tone did remind him of his mom when she was angry. There was no way you could get her to change her mind.

"Yes you are~," Lilly sang.

"Yes you are~," Madison joined her.

"No I am not!" Jade yelled.

"Yes you are~!" Rachel sang, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Rachel!" Jade exclaimed.

"You are~! You are~! You aaarrrreee~!" Charlotte sang. Everyone erupted in laughter. Kai just smiled. This was a new experience. He decided to enjoy it.

"Okay!" Jade wiped away a tear of laughter. "Maybe a little."

"Uh-huh," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, let's go to Cozy Central," Jade said.

They walked to a street, Lax Lane, and went to Cozy Central. A caramel brown and light green restaurant.

Kai walked inside. It was big! There were booths and tables everywhere. It looked like half the people in the city were here!

"How may I help you?" asked a woman with a small notebook and pen in her hand. The smile on her face changed to a concerned frown when Kai turned his head. "Is everything alright? Do you want me to get a first aid kit?"

At first, Kai didn't know what she meant but then he understood. _Forgot about this,_ Kai touched his bruised cheek. He was wearing his bandages too, so he could only imagine how he looked.

"Hey, Azumi-san!" Jade greeted the woman. "Have you met my friend?" she gestured to Kai.

"Jade, is he okay?" Azumi asked.

Jade blinked and then looked at Kai. "Oh, he's fine. I'll tell you about it later. At the moment, Toshiki is new here and I want him to try the best food you got!"

Azumi frowned but then smiled. "Welcome to Cozy Central, Toshiki."

Kai's eyes twitched. _Again with that?_

"Can we get the usual?" Charlotte asked.

Azumi nodded. "I'll bring your orders in a minute."

"Great! Over here, Toshiki!" Jade waved Kai past the tables and booths and went out the back door where tables with umbrellas were set up. Kai followed Jade to a table far to the left.

"Toshi-Onii-chaaaan~," Lilly smiled cutely at him. "Sit by me."

Kai blinked. "Uh..."

"Sit by me!" Lilly pouted like a little girl.

"...Okay."

Lilly beamed. She grabbed Kai's hand and dragged him over to her chair. She took her seat and gestured for Kai to take the seat next to her. Kai hesitantly took it.

"So, are you from around here?" Charlotte batted her eyes at him.

Kai's face heated up. At least the girls at his school had the decency to _try_ to hide it!

Jade stepped on Charlotte's foot, making her yelp. Jade gave the lime-head a warning glance.

"What Charlotte-san means is, we've never seen you around here," Madison said. "Are you from a different shard?"

"Shard?" Kai repeated.

"He's from Hitsue City," Jade said.

"Toshi-Onii-chan~! Do you know what Maddi-chan meant by shard?" Lilly smiled at him with big eyes.

Kai shook his head, startled by how the girl acted.

"Our city is divided into four parts that we call shards," Rachel explained. "This part is Cozy Getaway. There is Starlight, Woodland, and, the main shard in our city, F-"

"Fant. Illusions!" Lilly interrupted, playing with her toy.

"You're so immature for your age," Rachel stated.

Lilly pouted. "Toshi-Onii-chan doesn't mind my attitude."

Kai expected Rachel to glare at him. Instead she smiled.

"Then I guess it's fine, ne, Lilly?" Rachel smiled.

"Un!" Lilly grinned.

"Sorry for the wait!" Azumi came up to their table with their orders. She gave Kai a cheese burger and orange juice. "Enjoy!"

Kai relaxed and bit into his burger. _It's delicious,_ he thought. He was starting to enjoy his day. It was... fun.

"What should I name it?" Lilly asked to no one in particular, holding her cat.

"What do you want to name it?" Jade asked.

"Toshi!" Lilly grinned.

Kai stared at the girl. Why did she like him so much? All he did was give her a toy.

"What do you think Toshi-Onii-chan?" Lilly asked him.

"I don't mind," Kai shrugged.

"Yay!" Lilly hugged him.

A light shade of red colored Kai's cheeks as he awkwardly hugged her back.

"I should take a picture," Jade smirked teasingly.

Suddenly, Kai let out a hiss. Lilly had tightened her grip on Kai, accidentally pressing the bruises on his ribs.

"Toshi-Onii-chan?" Lilly let go of her 'big brother' and looked at him confused.

Kai bit his lip as his hand slowly moved to his ribs. The pain increased with every breath. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, though it only made things worse, it was Kai's way of calming down and ignoring the pain. He opened his eyes and as expected, everyone was giving him concerned looks.

"Are you alright?" Madison asked.

"Y-yeah, it's just a bruise," Kai forced.

"You mean like the one on your cheek?" Rachel raised her eye brow suspiciously. "Why are you wearing so many bandages anyway? There are even some on your hands."

"We need to go," Jade spoke before Kai could. She stood up, avoiding everybody's eyes and left. "Hurry up, Toshiki," she said coldly.

Everyone glanced at each other, confused. They had never heard Jade speak like that. Kai quickly stood up and said goodbye to the girls.

"My treat." Kai gave them some money. He had to pay for himself and Jade, who was far away. Kai didn't exactly have the time to go back in the shop and give the money, so he might as well just leave enough for everyone. Kai left before any of the girls could protest and caught up with Jade, trying to ignore the pain in his ribs.

"Jade-san?"

"Don't talk to me!" Jade snapped. She walked a little faster, making a gap between her and Kai.

Kai tried to think of something that he may have said to hurt her feelings, but nothing came to mind. _What if I said something to her before I woke up? _he thought. Kai didn't remember anything before he had that dream, so maybe something happened then?

"Did I say something that hurt your feelings?" Kai asked.

Jade stopped walking. A sharp wind whipped her hair back. Not turning around, she muttered, "You don't belong here."

Those words. Those were the words that Kai never wanted to hear again. He just stood there, not knowing what else to do. Things had went so well. He met new people who actually liked him. Why did this have to happen?

Jade looked at him with hateful eyes. "Why are you still here?"

At this moment, Kai's tongue felt like clay. If he was honest with himself, her words hurt him more than it would from anyone else. It may have been a short time, but for one second, Kai believed that these people cared about him. _Stupid idiot!_ a voice in his head yelled.

"Nobody cares about you! WHY DON'T YOU GET LOST!"

**{\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\}**

**Plot twist! I like making things interesting. Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard.**


	8. Returning

**Sorry for taking forever! I have been very busy! So much homework! :( Anyway, this may be shorter than usual. T-T I don't like making chapters small, but I had to post this soon. For those who have been asking, I will work on A Strange World's next chapter.**

**Warning: The rating may turn to T later on. That's all I'm going to say ;)**

**Not a Nobody, a Special**

**Chapter 8: Returning**

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Kai growled, frustrated. Jade had immediately apologized after her outburst, saying she was just tired. Kai felt his anger rise. He was fed up with being told he didn't belong anywhere. If Jade wasn't a girl, he would make sure she never spoke again. Shaking off his anger, Kai walked down the street, weighing his choices. He could leave like he wanted and stay at a hotel.

"That wouldn't solve anything," Kai sighed. Neither would staying with Jaden and his sister. That left-

A ringing pulled Kai away from his thoughts. He reached into his pocket and whipped out his phone. It was Miwa.

Kai stared at his phone for awhile until he realized it wasn't his imagination. Deciding that it was stupid to avoid it, Kai picked up the phone.

"Kai?"

Kai didn't say anything. What was he supposed to say? Hello, I know I disappeared for more than four days. Can I come back?

"Kai, are you there?" Miwa's voice sounded worried and anxious. That made Kai guilty.

"Yeah, I'm here," Kai responded quietly.

Miwa started yelling. Kai couldn't tell if he was angry or happy. "Where have you been?! Are you okay?! You're not sick, are you? Talk to me! Where are you?!"

Kai just shook his head, aware that Miwa couldn't see him. "It's a long story, Miwa."

"What they said really hurt you," Miwa murmured.

"...Ah."

"Kai, I know you're hurt, but could you please come back?" Miwa pled. "We're really worried about you."

No answer.

"Kai, please?" Miwa begged. "Kamui regrets what he said. He won't bother you again."

"...Yeah."

Miwa blinked. "Is that a yes?"

"Yeah," Kai repeated quietly. He regrets coming here. He should have just declined and stayed home. He was better off being the lone wolf.

Miwa noticed Kai's depressed mood. "Hey, K-"

"I'll see you later," Kai interrupted and abruptly hung up. Placing his phone back in his pocket, he resumed his walk, heading for a place he usually found comfort in: the park. Kai reached it and looked around. There was a trail of hydrangeas and goldenrods around a path. Kids chased each other, laughing and giggling. Two benches sat across from each other, occupied by a couple. Birds chirped around the water fountain. Kai's eyes stopped at a quiet spot, shaded by a tree. He laid under the tree, watching its branches sway back and forth.

Kai felt himself relax and closed his eyes. He thought he'd abandoned these problems with his uncle.

_Gues__s not,_ Kai thought dryly. Placing a hand behind his head and another over his face, Kai decided to take a nap.

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Kai cracked his eyes open as droplets of water lightly drizzled. Standing up, Kai saw dark stormy clouds in the sky. He checked the time on his phone. 10:27.

_Let's get this over with,_ Kai thought, shaking droplets off water out of his hair. He left the park and walked down the street, the rain stinging his wounds.

It took awhile, but Kai finally found the hotel. He stared at it for a moment. Taking a deep breath -he's been doing that a lot lately- Kai stepped into the lobby and took the elevator up. Stopping in front of the designated door, Kai started to lose some of his resolve. What was he supposed to say? Should he act normal? Were they going to be angry? What if-

Kai shook his head. Another problem. He was starting to be paranoid. Again. _Perfect,_ Kai thought sarcastically. It always got worse after that. Kai hesitantly placed his hand on the nob...

and turned it.

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"Hey, K-"

"I'll see you later."

Miwa realized Kai had hung up. He turned to the others, who had pretended not to have heard anything.

"Is Kai-kun alright?" Aichi asked.

Miwa nodded after a moment. "Yeah, he's just..."

"Just what?" Kamui demanded. He was worried Kai was angry at him.

"...Quiet."

The group shared a confused glance.

"Isn't he always like that?" Naoki asked.

Miwa lightly tapped his finger on the table, a frown on his face. "Just act normal and don't ask too many questions," he said.

"Why?" Kourin asked.

Miwa sighed. "Trust me. Don't ask too many questions."

Miwa was glad Kai was coming back, but he knew Kai would act differently. The brunet didn't show much affection. But his parents were a definite exception. Still, Miwa was happy Kai was coming back, despite his change of attitude.

In the end, they all decided to wait in the living room. The Miyagi Academy Cardfight Club had a few cardfights while they waited.

Miwa was sitting close to the door and thought he heard footsteps. Overcome by excitement, he grabbed the handle and threw the door open.

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Kai grunted and fell backwards when the door shot open. He hissed, feeling the floor hit his wounds. He rubbed the back of his sore head and slowly stood up, only to have someone lung at him. He would have fell down again if that person wasn't hugging him.

"Miwa?"

"Stupid idiot!" Miwa yelled in Kai's ears. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

"Sorry," Kai murmured.

Miwa shook his head. "Jeez! It's so hard for me to stay mad at you!" Miwa ended the hug, grinning at Kai. Kai forced a faint smile.

"What happened to you?" Miwa asked, noticing Kai's bandages.

Kai bit his lip. He didn't want to talk about this. He wasn't sure why. He just wanted to be lone, away from people. _It's happening again,_ Kai thought.

Miwa sighed, giving up. Getting to the point, he moved out of the door's way. Kai's face visibly paled when everyone stared at him. Miwa was concerned. Kai was skinny. Too skinny. Being out in the cold rain wasn't the best thing to do in that condition.

Miwa lightly pushed Kai into the room ad closed the door behind him. The heavy silence hung in the air; no one knew what to say. Being an -ahem- adult, Shin had experience with this.

"Are you feeling alright, Kai-kun?" he asked, handing the soaked brunet a towel.

Kai took it and gave a quick shake of his head. His audience noticed Miwa was right; he was different. Kai dried his hair with the towel.

"Are you bleeding?" Misaki asked, breaking the silence.

Kai's wet pants was now red, blood spilling out of his wounds. Kai tensed upon being caught.

"Kai, what happened?" Miwa frowned.

Kai kept quiet, his facing turning whiter. He was panicking. The stares, the attention, the pain; it was all too much. Kai felt light-headed. He had lost too much blood these past few days. What stupid idea possessed him to agree to coming here in the first place?

"Kai-kun, did something happen to your voice?" Aichi asked.

Kai didn't answer. He didn't feel like answering. He wanted to be alone.

Miwa saw panic in Kais eyes, but that didn't stop him. He told everyone he'd take Kai to their room. Aichi and Kamui followed. Miwa pulled Kai in the room, feeling a warm liquid on his arm. The blond wondered if Kai was going to tell them.

"Aichi, can you bring me a first aid kit?"

"H-hai!"

Miwa turned to Kai and folded his arms over his chest.

"Take off your sweater."

Kai shook his head, panicky at Miwa. Miwa's frown increased; he knew it.

"Kai, I'm serious."

Kamui gaped. Was Miwa glaring?! At Kai?!

Kai hesitantly took of his sweater, wearing a white T-shirt under it. Aichi came back in time to see the bruises and red bandages on Kai's arms. He slowly handed Miwa the first aid kit, who took it, still carrying a serious look. No one else, other than him, noticed how boney the brunet's arms were.

Miwa gestured for Kai to take off his shirt.

Kai gave up; Miwa knew him to well. Kai slowly stripped himself of his shirt, revealing his blood-bandaged body. Even Miwa's eyes widened. He had not expected Kai to be that injured.

A tiny bit of color returned to Kai's cheeks. "Stop staring," he mumbled in a barely audible voice.

Miwa couldn't help but smile a little at that, confusing the other boys. Kai slowly took off his bandages. The boys tried not to stare at his arm; it was gruesome. After his arms and legs were tended to, Kai started to take off the bandages on his torso.

"Don't scream," Kai whispered.

Miwa was about to ask why when his mouth dropped. Kamui covered his mouth, muffling a scream. Aichi was too shocked to do anything.

Miwa tried to speak. "K-Kai..."

Kai realized there was no point for pretense. "Back," he whispered.

It took awhile for the group to understand his meaning. They got the point when Kai turned around. Aichi and Kamui had to take deep breaths. Miwa swallowed the lump in his throat and cleaned Kai's wounds. Kai finally relaxed when it was over. The other boys were still shocked.

"Kai," Miwa stated carefully. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Kai winced at Miwa's loud voice. He shrugged, not wanting to talk. He found comfort in not hearing his voice, unsure why.

"Kai, why aren't you speaking? We know you can," Miwa said.

Kai didn't respond. Miwa groaned.

"Hey, uh, Kai?" Kamui hesitantly called the brunet. Said boy turned to Kamui, almost grimacing.

"...Sorry for what I said," Kamui apologised.

Kai nodded slowly. Miwa was confused by this. It was like Kai was making an effort to keep quiet. The blond nudged Kai, careful to make it light.

"Say something," he muttered from the side of his mouth.

Kai pretended like he didn't hear and laid down on 'his' bed, turning his back to the occupants of the room. He didn't feel like speaking.

"That's just his way of excepting apologies," Miwa joked, though, when Aichi and Kamui went to the bathroom, Miwa's eyes narrowed.

"Kai."

No answer.

Kai, I know you're awake."

"...Hm?"

Miwa grinned when Kai sat up. He jumped on the bed, next to Kai, annoying the brunet.

"I was worried you forgot how to speak!" Miwa laughed.

Kai kept quiet.

Miwa got to the point. "Something happened."

Kai shook his head no.

"You stink at lying. It's the one thing you're not perfect at," Miwa said evenly.

"...It's not important."

Miwa had to strain his ears to hear Kai's almost silent answer. Despite Kai's lie, Miwa was happy the brunet responded.

"The truth," Miwa stated.

"Met some people," Kai whispered.

"Mean?" Miwa asked.

Kai shrugged.

"You expect me to believe that's it?" Miwa frowned. "Tell me what you've done these past EIGHT days."

Kai sighed. "Miwa, there's nothin-" Kai stopped speaking, his eyes wide.

Kai?" Miwa looked at the brunet, concerned.

"Did you say eight days?" Kai asked slowly.

Miwa blinked. "Didn't you know?"

Kai held his head in his hands, his breath speeding up. He didn't notice Miwa shaking him. He was too shocked. Not knowing any other explanation, Kai thought he had just rammed into someone and got hurt, but his wounds were too serious to be from that and...

"You've been out for almost four days. Well, if you count today."

If that was true, this should have been the fifth day. Which only left one answer.

He was tortured.

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**Got this idea recently! I changed everything in my story, so it may take long to update but I'll try my best! :) I may change the title and the summery because of the changes I made. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard.**


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